


Moments In Time

by MysticalAuthoress



Series: Fate Brings Us Together [6]
Category: Escape the Night (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Escape the Night Season 1 Spoilers, Escape the Night Season 2 Spoilers, Escape the Night Season 3 Spoilers, Escape the Night Season 4 Spoilers, Escape the Night Spoilers, Established Relationship, F/F, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Grieving, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Post-Escape The Night Season 4, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, takes place post-"Wicked Game", things get broken and smashed in the second one
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:13:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 30,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23149822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MysticalAuthoress/pseuds/MysticalAuthoress
Summary: The Helpers recover in the aftermath of the Museum of the Dead's events. Some recover a bit better than others.On indefinite hiatus as of Dec. 29th, 2020. See author's note on Chapter 18 for details.
Relationships: Calliope & Jetpack Girl (Escape The Night), Calliope & Mortimer Wilson, Calliope & Riley (Escape The Night), Calliope & Vincent Wells (Escape the Night), Jael & Calliope (Escape The Night), Jael/Ryu (Escape the Night), Jetpack Girl & Vincent Wells (Escape The Night), Jetpack Girl/Riley (Escape The Night), Mortimer Wilson & Mayor Janet Wilson, Riley & Mortimer Wilson, Riley & Vincent Wells (Escape The Night), Vincent Wells & The Priest | David Santos, Vincent Wells/Mortimer Wilson
Series: Fate Brings Us Together [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1112907
Comments: 34
Kudos: 9





	1. The Revelation

**Author's Note:**

> For those of you that haven't read "Wicked Game," the prequel to this, you may want to do so. Actually, while you're at it, you might want to read the whole series this fic takes place in before reading this one, as there are some already-established relationships at this point. 
> 
> This is a little different from my other fics in the series. Typically I try to be at least somewhat canon-compliant (especially given that this does follow up to the end of Season 2 of Escape the Night in terms of its canon-compliancy), but given that we don't know how soon Season 5 will come, given current events in the world as of the posting of this fic, this one may result in the series going wildly canon-divergent from hereon. We'll see how things go. In the meantime, think of this particular fanfic as a collection of oneshots—ones that take place post-"Wicked Game," but don't have a definite chronological order otherwise. A slice-of-life fic, for the Helpers and those present in the Victorian mansion as of post-"Wicked Game." I hope you enjoy reading it!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vincent and Mortimer wake up to a brand new day, but also finally learn how Vincent arrived at the Victorian Mansion in the first place. Both have differing reactions to this.

“Brownie?”

“Mort?” Vincent’s eyes fluttered open. The view of his boyfriend looking down at him, lying in bed right beside him as he faced him, made Vincent smile a bit. Mortimer’s hair was a bit messy, but that was guaranteed to happen from sleeping earlier. “Morning.”

“Morning.” Mortimer gave him a kiss, chuckling a bit. “You’re pretty when you sleep.”

“You, too.” Vincent kissed him back, before moving to sit up. Mortimer gently wrapped an arm around him, trying to pull him back down, but Vincent resisted, lightly wriggling underneath in the attempt to break free. “What time is it…?”

“It’s only seven.” Mortimer muttered. He wrapped his other arm around Vincent, and pulled him entirely back down on the bed, before hooking a leg around his legs as best as he could to keep him pinned. “We can snuggle…”

Vincent couldn’t help but chuckle a bit as he looked towards his lover, deciding it was best to give up struggling and stay in Mortimer’s embrace. “I suppose we can wait a few more minutes.” He murmured, before giving him a kiss again.

Ever since everyone made it out of the Museum of the Dead, Vincent had noticed Mortimer sticking around his room more often. There were periods of time, during these past months, where Vincent would wake up and realize that Mortimer was curled up in bed with him. And he didn’t mind that, not really (and usually Mortimer asked if he could stick around first or they both just happened to be hanging out in Vincent’s room and they fell asleep curled up against each other, which usually happened). Sure, everyone had their own rooms, because they were in a giant Victorian manor and there were more than enough bedrooms for everyone, but it wasn’t uncommon for some to share their rooms for the night. Also, why _not_ share the bed with the man you loved for some much-needed cuddling?

There was a knock on the door, and then Ryu’s voice spoke from outside. “Vincent? You up?”

“Uh,” Vincent quickly tried to sit up, Mortimer pulling himself off him so he could, “I’m up! I’m awake!”

“Cool. You and Mortimer get downstairs for some breakfast soon, okay?”

“Me and Mort…?”

He heard Ryu laugh. “I _figured_ you’d both be in there.” And with that, footsteps trailed towards the stairs, heading down. Mortimer chuckled sheepishly, sitting up in bed.

“I guess we should head down before they start making conspiracy theories about us sleeping in.”

Vincent couldn’t help but smile, before giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Yes. Let’s.”

* * *

Vincent and Mortimer both came downstairs to the kitchen. Everyone else had already eaten or were still eating what appeared to be some cooked sausages, fried eggs, toast, and even some fruit on the side. Vincent could tell the fruit was fresh. Probably from the garden that Riley tended to so well, these days.

“Morning!” Riley beamed at them, warm as always in her greetings. Jael nibbled on toast, sitting beside Ryu who grabbed a cup of tea, before looking up at the two.

“What were you two up to last night?”

Vincent’s nose wrinkled at that. “Sleeping. What else?”

Calliope audibly groaned, she and Dylan exchanging awkward looks. _“Again,_ let’s keep this morning away from talking of love lives.”

“Agreed.” Janet called from the other side of the table, just after swallowing her forkful of fruit. “No offense.”

“None taken.” Mortimer managed, chuckling a little as he grabbed the cup of coffee Jetpack Girl gave him. He took a sip, noticing that Fatima was in a different garb than usual. “Nice outfit, Fatima. Guess you finally found something that fit?”

“Uh,” Fatima looked down at her dress, much more frilled, high-collared and conservative than her usual styles of dress back in the Arabian Exhibit, “Yeah, it fit. A lot of the other gowns were too stiff to move around in, and this is the best I could find of the lot so far…the collar’s a little itchy, though.”

“We could cut it off.” Riley suggested, looking towards her. “Or fold it down. Something like that.”

“I don’t know if you can fold it down.” Alison put her cup of coffee down, staring at Fatima’s collar. “The fabric looks pretty stiff to me.”

“We can figure it out later.” Fatima reassured her, offering her a soft smile. “I’m just glad I finally found something to wear.”

The Arabian Exhibit was much warmer than the general area where this Victorian mansion was located. And Fatima’s clothing, though beautiful, fashionable, and unlike anything that most people in the house had seen before, was somewhat impractical for keeping her warm enough. Mortimer figured that fixing a collar was the least of Fatima’s clothing problems.

“Anyway,” Jael looked towards Mortimer and Vincent, “We need to talk to both of you. After breakfast is over, of course.”

Vincent paused, looking towards her. “Is this…important? A confidential thing?”

“Kind-of.” Ryu managed, taking another sip of coffee. “It’s about how you came to this place.”

Vincent swallowed. He remembered the smoke, the chanting, and hands seizing him, before stumbling into this mansion and meeting Jetpack Girl and Riley for the first time. He noticed that everyone else was quiet, now, and his gaze wavered as he scanned everyone’s reactions. Most were trying to keep neutral faces, save for Riley who looked straight-up worried, and Mortimer who had a similar reaction.

“I think,” Vincent finally managed, “That’s something I want to talk about in private. After breakfast.”

“Fair.” Jael murmured. It took a few moments for the previous, warm ambiance of everyone eating together at breakfast to return, but it did. Vincent was glad about that.

* * *

An hour and a half later, Vincent found himself sitting in the mansion’s lounge, Mortimer beside him. He’d asked Mortimer to stay with him while Jael and Ryu delivered him the news. Both of them sat beside him on the couch, with Jael and Ryu sitting on a couch opposite them.

“Remember how you told us that Matpat, Safiya and Rosanna came up with that theory that you were taken to the Victorian mansion after your being freed via the type of ritual you used to get to Everlock?” Jael started. She herself looked uncomfortable. “Well…they were right, actually. Our superiors confirmed it to us, after we asked about your condition the other day.”

“So, they _did_ play a role in getting me here.” Vincent looked down at his hands, then up at Jael, the memories of his freedom running in the back of his mind. He still remembered fleeing the mansion, hoping Joey and the others left in it would make it out alive, before getting grabbed, hearing the chanting, and seeing green mist around him. “Was it…instantaneous? My getting here?”

“No.” Ryu swallowed, before looking him in the eye. “In fact, you were forced into a coma after the Society Against Evil took you.”

“What?” He froze. _One whole year_ , taken from him? In the blink of an eye and a bit of green mist? “How?”

Ryu’s jaw clenched a little. “In the midst of getting you to the organization’s headquarters, according to them, you tried to escape. Makes sense you’d react that way, honestly—you had no idea who they were, where they were taking you, _and_ you literally just got out of the other mansion you were stuck in. The organization members in charge of taking you subdued you and medically forced you into a coma so you couldn’t just run off. The time you spent comatose was _supposed_ to be short, for a month or two, and then they’d relocate you to somewhere safer in the 1920s, with a new identity, and memories wiped of _everything_ that happened to you beforehand. Unfortunately, they did their job too well when putting you into that coma, and you ended up comatose for a _year._ By the time the year was up, the SAE thought about bringing you elsewhere in the 1920s as planned, but that was when they found out the Sorceress was defeated in the Victorian Era.”

“So, they brought him to the Victorian Era instead.” Mortimer concluded, frowning. “Because it was safer now that the Sorceress was dead.”

“Exactly.” Jael leaned back a little, taking a deep breath as she looked from Mortimer and to Vincent. “Vincent…I’m sorry that the SAE put you through that. And I know apologies won’t make up for the year you lost.”

“But…” Vincent looked up at her. “Why not erase my memories before bringing me, Jetpack Girl and Riley together, then? They could have done so.”

“I think,” Jael swallowed, “They might’ve thought, at the time, that you could help those two better if you had an idea of what they went through. I think that’s the reason the organization let you keep your memories, other than requesting you three to go to Everlock. Because all of you have, at the end of the day, similar experiences, they figured that you would be helpful when heading there.”

“And then they met me and Calliope, stuck in the midst of it with little idea of what’s happening, and that’s history.” Mortimer finally pieced together. He then shook his head. “Actually, Calliope knew what was going on to an extent, but I definitely didn’t.”

“Most bystanders, like you and your mother,” Ryu managed, looking towards him, “Are _usually_ dead by now in these slaughter-fests. It’s a miracle you initially survived.”

“Only because everyone else was there. I’d be screwed if it wasn’t for them.”

Vincent took a deep breath. Forced into a coma, and then taken to the Victorian Era… “How long have you and Ryu known about this?”

Jael and Ryu both went quiet, exchanging awkward glances. Vincent waited for them to answer, quiet, and then Jael finally answered.

“We only found out the _day_ before the night we broke into the Museum of the Dead, a week after we asked for more information about you and how you met up with Jetpack Girl and Riley in the first place.” Jael closed her eyes, and a deep sigh left her as she opened them again. “Because me, Ryu and Calliope were stuck in Everlock while you were taken from the 1920s, there was no way we would’ve known about you until after we returned to headquarters alive and safe. And even then, we didn’t ask initially until later because…well, you get the idea. Recovering came first. All of us needed time from _that.”_

Everyone was so busy trying to unwind from the events of Everlock—and then the Museum of the Dead—that it would’ve been bad timing to tell him until now, Vincent pieced together in his head. He wasn’t sure how to feel about it. Hurt, that he didn’t know sooner about how he got there? Grateful that they had good intentions to send him somewhere safe? Horrified, that he lost a whole year because of a coma that went too long?

He just sat there on the couch, quiet, unsure of what to say or do.

“Vince?” He felt Mortimer tug at his hand. “You okay?”

“I’m fine.” Vincent looked him in the eyes, and he could tell, from his boyfriend’s raised brow and slight frown, that he didn’t believe him. “I might want to smash something later or scream, though.”

“Got it.”

“You’re taking this a little better than I thought.” Jael managed, and Vincent shook his head, looking towards her.

“I’m not _actually_ sure how I’m taking it. Or how I’m supposed to.” He corrected. He looked down at himself, then up at her and Ryu. “Can I just…take a moment? By myself? For a bit?”

“Uh, sure.” Jael managed, blinking. “That’s all we really had to say. Unless you have any other questions, of course.”

“No. Not right now. But thanks.” Vincent stood, looking towards Mortimer, still noting the worry on his face. “I’ll be okay. Promise.”

“Okay.” Mortimer whispered, and Vincent left the three to their own devices.

* * *

As far as Mortimer knew, Vincent holed himself up in his room for the next three hours. Mortimer didn’t try to walk into Vincent’s room or even knock and ask if he was okay. Maybe he just needed time to process. Hell, Mortimer knew that if he were comatose for a whole year and didn’t know about it until some time after waking up, he would probably be shocked as well.

But at the same time, he wasn’t really sure what to do. He felt the need to be a supportive boyfriend and be there, but how does one be there for your boyfriend, who clearly needed some alone time? Wait for him?

He knew he couldn’t just worry about Vincent the whole time. He wasn’t about to sit on the floor outside his room or do anything like that, because that didn’t seem right for either of them. So, Mortimer busied himself with sitting in his own room, playing with the guitar he had. Reading the few comic books he brought with him from Everlock. Gathering laundry when Alison declared that they ought to wash some clothes so they wouldn’t run out of clean ones for the next week. Keeping busy always helped him get his mind off the worry.

It was what helped him with Everlock being under the Carnival Master’s influence, too. He knew his mom did exactly that as well—stay busy. Fake it ‘til you make it, that kind of thing.

But if there was anything he learned from therapy (everyone in the house went to therapy to some extent, given the various traumatic experiences and post-traumatic disorders resulting from this), repressing feelings sucked. And he really hoped Vincent wasn’t repressing anything he felt to the point of harming himself.

Mortimer knew he had a bad habit of repressing his own feelings, too. Like how he felt when he died and became a statue, unmoving, incapable of speaking, seeing, _screaming—_

A knock at the door startled Mortimer mid-guitar session, and he looked up, clearing his throat. “Come in!”

Vincent opened the door, gazing at him softly. He looked relatively calmer now, save for his newly reddened eyes. “Is it a bad time?”

“Not at all.” Mortimer gestured for Vincent to sit on the bed beside him. “Come in.”

Vincent shut the door behind him, stiffly moved towards Mortimer, and sat down on the bed, still quiet. He then let out a sigh, pushing his messy hair out his face, before looking up at him. “I’m fine. Better now, at least.”

“Good.” Relief swept through Mortimer as he watched the tension in his boyfriend’s shoulders relax. “I was honestly getting a little worried…”

“A whole year.” Vincent muttered, shaking his head. “I know Safiya, Matpat and Ro had their theories in Everlock, but…I guess they really were right.”

“Yeah.” Mortimer wondered how the Society Against Evil did all the crazy things they did, at times. Time travel was one thing, but deliberately making someone comatose was another thing altogether. He offered Vincent a soft smile. “At least you’re here, though. Alive. Safe.”

He saw Vincent smile slightly, but then it faded. “Before you ask, about me…I just cried a bit and tried to sleep it off. Nothing else. Better now.”

“Good.” Mortimer looked down at the guitar he had on him, then up at Vincent. “Do you want me to do anything?”

“I’d like to listen to you. Your music. Is that okay?”

He couldn’t help but grin at that. “That, Vincent, is perfectly fine.”

The sound of Mortimer playing guitar echoed through the second floor of the mansion for the rest of the afternoon, alleviating both Vincent and Mortimer’s worries. It might work for only a little while, but maybe that was just what they needed right now for themselves and each other. Mortimer was more than sure it would take time for both of them to let everything that ever happened to them sink in.

At least, right now, they had all the time in the world.


	2. Hold On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jael has a meltdown after Cassidy's death, and Ryu and Calliope do their best to help her through it.

Ryu witnessed many breakdowns when he was dead, just standing by the church and hoping that he and Jael would come back to life.

He’s seen Jael break down a lot. She cried when they first died and woke up realizing they were dead. He held her, quiet, just letting her cry it all out.

She cried the night after her sister died. She didn’t cry at the funeral, not really, but she cried after that. Calliope and Ryu were both there to hold her, be there for her, but also give her space when she requested it.

Jael was never much of a talker. Never tried to linger much on her feelings, and in a way, she reminded Ryu of himself. He, too, didn’t like to talk much about feelings. There wasn’t enough time to process all of that, during their work in the Society Against Evil. He suspected that was why therapy was insured immediately along with their contracts. No one could get their feelings out there in the middle of a battlefield, but at least they could in therapy, off the field.

But this was different. After the funeral, Jael insisted she’d be fine. And in a way, she acted like she was. She gave her amused, teasing comments about Vincent and Mortimer’s love life, was a sharp eye as always in combat, and made sure no one did anything entirely stupid. Ryu tricked himself into thinking that, maybe, just maybe, Jael moved on already. She moved on seemingly fast enough from her own demise at the Carnival Master’s hands. Maybe this would be the same.

But it wasn’t.

Next thing he knows, weeks later, Jael has broken dishes all around her after a rough mission. Two sisters, one of them possessed by demons. Even worse? Both of them died. It wasn’t the first mission Ryu was on where those they tried to save just died, either, so he hadn’t expected Jael to straight-up destroy half the kitchen after coming home.

“Jael—” He tried to reach her, but she slapped his hand away.

“Don’t _touch_ me.” Jael’s voice went soft, but still sharp enough to cut skin if it could.

Over the forty years he’s been dead, Ryu was there when Jael just…broke. He’s held her in the afterlife when she first cried over dying, when she cursed the Carnival Master, and anticipated Calliope (or one of the other guests or Helpers) to die during the last night in Everlock.

But the breakdown happening _right now_ is the worst. Porcelain pieces strewn on the ground, likely from plates and cups and things from the cupboards, surround Jael where she stood. Jael throws down a glass, adding to the mess, then another.

“Jael.” Ryu wanted to prevent too many plates and cups from getting broken, or else no one will have anything to put their food and drink in later. And she’s going to get hurt if he doesn’t stop her from smashing things any further. “Jael—"

“Cassidy’s dead,” Jael whimpered, shaking her head. “She _died,_ and I didn’t even get to see her in Purgatory. I didn’t even get to say goodbye. I lose her, years ago, and the one chance I get to maybe get her back—” She smashed down another plate, “She’s fucking _dead,_ Ryu! She’s already dead!”

Ryu tiptoed his way through the shards of porcelain, offering Jael and hand, and she took it—right before burying herself in his arms, sobbing ugly tears. Ryu knew that he wasn’t good at comforting people, so he just held her. Stroked her back, a little. Told her to breathe.

They stood like that for about five minutes until Calliope walked in.

“What is—” Calliope stopped herself midsentence, seeing the mess and the blood.

“Get a first-aid kit.” Ryu gently led Jael to the closest chair, sitting her down after carefully wadding through the mess of broken things. Calliope immediately moved to the closest shelf to grab the first-aid kit, and Jael sighed and leaned forwards in her seat, burying her face in her hands.

“I’m not a kid.” Jael muttered, shaking her head. “I can take care of myself, it’s fine.”

“You need help.” Ryu sensed his own voice sharpen at the last word, and he regretted it instantly. Berating her wouldn’t help this situation. “First, we’re getting you patched up. And then…”

“And then I need a fucking nap.” Jael laughed, hoarse as she looked up at Ryu. “As if I’ve been sleeping well lately.”

He shook his head, just as Calliope opened the first aid kit and handed him the bandages, as well as tweezers to take out a few porcelain pieces stuck in Jael’s leg. He sat down on a chair close to Jael, propped her left leg up on his lap, and started using the rubbing alcohol to clean the tweezers.

“When was the last time you had a session?” He was referring to therapy. The Society Against Evil had a whole branch of therapists at their headquarters. Grief counselling, post-traumatic-stress-disorder, you name it—they probably had at least one therapist for every mental health-related matter known to man. Everyone in the house ended up going there at some point (and who could blame them, given all they went through?).

Jael sighed. “A week before the Museum shit happened.”

A concerned “hm” left Calliope’s lips. “We have been a bit busy with everything. Janet and Fatima moving in with us, for instance, and then the short funeral...” Ryu heard water running, and then he looked up briefly to see Calliope offer Jael a glass of water to drink. “Don’t break this.”

Jael looked at the glass Calliope offered her, took it, and thankfully didn’t throw it at the closest wall. Instead, she half-chugged the contents, choked briefly, and then drank the rest. Ryu took that time to take out the few porcelain pieces stuck in her leg, clean the wound with a wet towel Calliope offered him, and then he wrapped it up with the bandages.

“Let me guess what you’re gonna say.” Jael muttered, pushing hair out of her face with a hand. “Get an appointment booked, take time off duties, all that. But I like having the missions. It makes me not think about it. I want to live as normally as I can, whatever that normal is.”

“Well, I _was_ going to mention the first part.” Ryu admitted, with a shrug. “And there’s nothing wrong with taking time off. I know you need time to _process,_ though. And if you don’t allow that time…”

“It won’t end well.” Calliope ended. Jael looked her in the eye, and Calliope sighed. “Of course, none of us are therapists. That would be something to talk to yours about, I think.”

“Yeah. It would.”

The three trailed into silence, but that was when they heard the door to the kitchen creak open.

“Hey,” Ryu looked towards the door, just in time to see Fatima and Mortimer walk in. Mortimer swallowed, examining the mess, and then asked, “Is everything…?”

“Stay out of the kitchen.” Calliope quickly spoke, gaze snapping towards the two. “Make sure the others stay out, too. We have a mess to clean up.”

“Are you sure? We can help.” Fatima asked, eyes widening at the sight, but Calliope just nodded, waving them off. Fatima and Mortimer exchanged awkward glances, but quickly ducked out of the kitchen to (presumably) warn the others.

Jael sighed, looking towards the door, and then toward the mess. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have taken it out like that. And Riley was going to cook dinner tonight, too.”

“We’ll find replacement dishes.” Ryu reassured her. “How about you get some rest, and me and Calliope can clean this up?”

Jael stood, carefully, testing her balance before looking between Calliope and Ryu.

“I think I will.” She finally managed. There was a faint smile on her face. “Might take that nap you both talked about, too.”

With that, she left the kitchen. Ryu and Calliope, meanwhile, cleaned up the kitchen in silence and hoped for the best.


	3. Keep In Touch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After receiving the umpteenth handwritten letter in a row from the survivors, Janet and Alison decide that they want to visit them in person. Unfortunately, due to current-world issues where the Youtubers live, it’s impossible to visit them in-person, leading the two women to think of alternative ways to see them…leading them to record their first video message, of sorts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Out of all the oneshots I've written for this collection so far, this one in particular was very inspired by current events, in regards to COVID-19. I hope all of you readers are staying safe and sound, and I hope this chapter can brighten up your day a bit.

_Hi Janet, Mortimer, Vincent, Calliope, Jael, Ryu, Dylan, Fatima, Alison, Riley and Jetpack Girl!_

_I hope you are all well. Nothing much has changed on my end, and same with most of my other friends and family. I would send you all some cupcakes or something as a treat, but I’m not sure how well they’d last through time-travel—let me know if that would work out without the cupcakes getting wrecked for next time!_

_Last time all of you sent a letter, you mentioned that Joey still isn’t out of Pandora’s Box. As for his boyfriend Daniel, he’s okay. Me and the others have been checking in on him periodically, and he seems fine. He still misses Joey, though, so let us know if you have any updates so they can reunite soon!_

_Yours Truly,_

_Rosanna Pansino_

_Hey everyone,_

_I hope you’re doing well in the Victorian Era. Life in 2020 is…interesting, right now. That’s all I can really say. Me and my family are fine. Given how things are going where I am, though, I’m probably not going to be available for any future missions for the SAE too soon. Gotta make sure things are okay where I am first. Don’t worry—right now I’m okay, and same with my family and friends._

_Question, though: Are any of the theories that Ro, Safiya and I had about Vincent and the rest of you correct? It’s been nagging the back of my mind for a little bit, and I would love some answers._

_Hope to hear from you soon!_

_Sincerely,_

_Matpat_

_Hello friends,_

_I hope you’ve all been well. The house must be pretty full by now, with the new people. For those who don’t know me and are reading this letter—hi, I’m Safiya Nygaard. I was one of the guests in Everlock when we were trying to defeat the Carnival Master. I’m alive. It’s all good._

_Things have been pretty busy where I am, but I wanted to let you know that Tyler and I had our wedding back in the fall! I sent you a copy of our wedding video, a couple of our wedding photos, and a video of our first dance on the attached USB. Maybe Ryu, Calliope or Jael can get their hands on a laptop and let you guys watch it?_

_I know I’ve done my research on Victorian fashion, but I was wondering if you guys could fill me in on any common trends. Also, what exact year are you living in? I’m asking because the fashion of the Victorian era wasn’t static throughout the whole time period, and I don’t want to accidentally mix up the timing of specific trends. Anything you know about this would be great. Thanks!_

_Hope to hear from you soon!_

_Sincerely,_

_Safiya_

* * *

“More letters from the survivors?”

“Hm?” Alison looked up from the letter to see Janet approach her, before nodding, offering it to her. “We got ones from Ro, Matpat and Safiya today.”

“That’s good.” Janet smiled softly, looking at Ro’s short letter. Because everyone lived in the Victorian era, where the technologies of 2019 to 2020 did not exist, there were no computers, nor television. This also affected things such as the existence of ‘email’ and ‘texts,’ as well as ‘messaging.’ Due to this, the best the Youtubers could do was send letters to everyone in the Victorian era—handwritten ones (or typed and printed out if their handwriting sucked). The residents of said Victorian manor also sent letters back to them as well. Riley was one of the more frequent letter-writers out of the whole group, but Alison and Janet were close seconds. Alison figured it didn’t hurt to stay in contact with the survivors, and Janet just liked the fact that she had friends from completely different eras writing to her. It was nice. It was a way to connect. It was good.

“I wish there was a way to do more than just letters, though.” Alison heard Janet sigh. “I mean, they live in 2020. Do you think they have television, still?”

“Television?” Alison turned, nose wrinkling a bit. What was that? “What is television?”

“I guess it doesn’t exist in the Victorian Era.” Janet sighed, before looking the vampire princess in the eye. “Television is…it’s like seeing a play, or reading a book. Except you see the scenes projected on a flat screen in front of your eyes instead of in your head or live on a stage. Does that make a bit more sense?”

“A little bit.” Alison admittedly still didn’t get it, but the idea of it helped a little. “We don’t have any of those in this era. I don’t know if they’d work in here.”

“Good question. And it’s not like have radios, either…” Janet paused, frowning a bit as she shook her head. “Maybe we really have no choice except to use letters. And I don’t mind, but I wish we could just talk to them directly, you know? Even though we’re in different eras?”

“We’d have to time travel.” Alison reminded her. “Either that, or…”

She paused. Wait a second. Wasn’t one of the people she helped save from the museum _adept_ with technology? It was…Justine, right? With the Apple technology?

“Wait!” Alison snapped her fingers. “I have an idea.”

Janet’s gaze snapped towards her. “What is it?”

“Remember when we were dealing with the Emperor and his stupid contest?” The vampire pointed out. “Justine tried to sway him by mentioning this technology called ‘Apple.’ Clearly this technology comes from _her_ era if she knows of it so well! If we can obtain and learn to use some of that technology, we can contact the survivors without having to time travel!”

“Really?” Janet’s jaw dropped. She’d never heard of this ‘Apple’ before, but hey, if this was going to work, maybe it could! “You’re right! We should bring this up Calliope, Jael and Ryu when they come back from their mission! We can find out more about how they’re doing that way.”

“Great!”

* * *

Ryu stared at both women for a moment, speechless. He’d been the first to return from a mission (Calliope and Jael were reporting to headquarters about said mission before coming back to the mansion) when Alison and Janet brought it up to him. “I…have no clue what this ‘Apple’ is, but if it’s going to help, it might be worth a shot.”

“So you can just time-travel to a time when ‘Apple’ technology existed, grab some, and then we can set it up here?” Janet asked. “You can do that? Can you go to 2020 for us?”

“Yeah, but…it wouldn’t work _here.”_ He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “Thing is, wi-fi isn’t invented in the Victorian era. That doesn’t come until hundreds of years later.”

“What is wi-fi?”

“It’s…um…” Ryu paused, closing his eyes for a moment, then sighed, “a wireless networking protocol that allows devices to communicate without direct cable connections.”

Janet could tell that Alison looked completely lost. Janet herself also felt lost, so at least Alison wasn’t alone in feeling that right now.

“So it’s magic?” Alison finally asked.

“Sure.” Ryu managed. “We can go with that. The problem is, because we don’t have wi-fi, even if we did bring a bunch of Apple devices from 2020 to _this_ era, we still can’t connect with the Youtubers that way.”

“Could we _invent_ wi-fi in the Victorian era ourselves?” Janet asked.

He shook his head. “I doubt we can legally do that. That might lead to massive time-space repercussions if wi-fi was invented much sooner than expected. Memes would be become a thing of the Edwardian Era if we’re not careful.”

_“Memes?”_

“That’s stuff you find on the internet. Really funny. Also hard to explain.”

“Can’t we just set up a private connection?” Janet tried arguing. “Surely there has to be a way!”

“Well, maybe we can’t use wi-fi, but…” Ryu paused, then looked up at the two again, “I could ask to see if I can take a camera here. We can record videos for you to share with the survivors. We just have to make sure the survivors don’t share said videos with too many people. But I think it could work.”

“A camera?”

“Videos?”

Alison and Janet both looked a bit confused at that. Ryu only sighed.

“I’ll explain them to you two soon. Everyone else, too.”

* * *

After much discussion between Ryu, Calliope, Jael and their own headquarters about using a camera to make videos and send them to the survivors. Of course, the three also made sure to let said survivors know about the confidentiality issues, too, so hopefully nothing went wrong.

After everyone had the chance to watch Safiya and Tyler’s videos, read all the letters, and debate whether it was a good idea for cupcakes to travel back in time (turns out it was physically possible to do so without said food getting wrecked), Alison and Janet called dibs on trying to use the camcorder that Ryu managed to bring over a few days after the initial request.

The only problem was: Neither of them really knew how it worked, so they ended up running to Jael for help. After figuring out which button was the ‘record’ button and so on, they figured they should try out a test video.

“Hi.” Janet waved at the camera. Alison could only sigh as she sat beside her on the couch, looking at her, and then the camera.

“Well, hello.” Alison managed. “This is a test video. I hope all of you watching are okay.”

“Let us know if the audio works. I mean, I guess we can replay this after trying it out, but still.” Janet scratched the back of her head a little. “I hope all of you are well. We’d love to visit you in person, but we can’t because of current events.”

“And we don’t have ‘wi-fi’ in this century.” Alison pointed out. “So we can’t use what you call ‘Skype’ or ‘Face-Timing’ either.”

Janet stared at Alison. “How do you time faces?”

“I don’t know what that really means.” Alison admitted. “It was just something I overheard from the others at some point…as well as something called ‘Uber.’ It sounds like some mode of transportation.”

“Maybe we can ask Ryu or Jael next time.” Janet shrugged, a sigh leaving her. “They seem to know more about the ‘future’ than we do.”

“That’s a fair statement.” Alison paused, before turned her head to face Janet and asking, “Is there anything else we need to mention?”

“Other than not sharing this with anyone except fellow survivors? That’s about it.” Janet managed. “This is a test video, after all. We can talk about the more personal stuff later.”

“Also fair.” Alison looked towards the camera again. “Well, that seems to be about it for now. I’m sure the others will want to make their own videos, too.”

“We could make one together, all of us.” Janet snapped her fingers a little, grinning. “That could be fun.”

“If everyone isn’t too busy, we should do that.”

“Send us questions!” Janet’s gaze looked towards the camera, grinning. “Thank you for watching!”

Both women waved goodbye at the screen, before they stopped recording the video. A soft hum came from the vampire princess as she examined the camera, then looked up at Janet. “What is it that they say at the end of their videos? Click to subscribe?”

“I think so.” Janet sighed, shaking her head. “But we don’t have what they call Youtube! At least, not yet!”

“Still, though. It _is_ impressive how their careers are launched through a computer and ‘wi-fi’ along with this _Youtube_ platform.” Alison was just glad that someone like the Sorceress or Carnival Master never got to spread their influence through such a device. It would rather frightening if it worked out in _their_ favour.

“Too bad we can’t just post things on Youtube because of space-time issues that Ryu mentioned…” Janet mused. “At least we found a way to talk to them, right?”

“I think they’ll like it.” A soft smile came to Alison’s face as she thought of the people she and the others helped. “Maybe they’ll send some messages back like what we’re doing.”

Alison saw Janet grin. “I hope they do that, too.”

It was always nice to keep in touch with whatever they could use, after all.


	4. Better When We're Dancing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dylan attempts to dance like Fatima. This leads to mixed results, Fatima thinking about her long-lost love, and an offer to teach some dancing.

“How do you dance like that?”

Fatima blinked, pausing mid-motion with the fan in her hand. She’d been practicing her skills in the empty ballroom (at least, empty until Dylan walked in and asked a question). “Dance like what?”

She’d worn her clothing from Arabia, the clothing she had on her back when she initially left the Museum. She really couldn’t function the way she wanted to, in those high-necked, frilly clothes. How Riley managed it, she had no clue.

“You know.” Dylan tried to wave his arms around, trying to imitate her movements. “With the fan. I’ve never seen that kind of dancing before.”

Fatima did her best to not giggle at how clumsy and awkward he made it seem, looking more like a waving tree than dancing. “No?”

“No.” Dylan scratched the back of his head, and she thought he might be blushing just a bit, from embarrassment. “My Pa and I never really…danced, back where we lived. Not even with the other hunters. I know Riley and Jetpack Girl just twirl around a lot, and Mortimer tries to but he’s bad at it.”

“Dancing was just something I was deeply involved with from the beginning.” Fatima mused, closing her fan and putting it on the closest, tiny table. “My mother and the fellow girls taught me when I was a child. It was what we did to have fun in the late nights, have parties and all.”

Oh, the dancing. Being around fellow dancers, in general, was something Fatima missed. Sure, the others in the house could dance, but it wasn’t the same style. No one could quite hold a fan or scarf properly (though she did her best to teach them). She smiled at the memories, seeing her long lost love at the back of her mind along with them.

“That’s how I met Sinbad, actually. We danced together.”

“And then you instantly fell in love?” Dylan stared at her. “Just like that?”

She could only sigh softly, nodding. “Love has a funny way of reaching people.”

She still remembered dancing with Sinbad whenever they could meet. Often they had to be alone, away from everyone else, because there was no way Schehezerade would let them get close if she saw them together in public. Sure, they might be able to be in the same space whenever plays were acted out, and so on, but it wasn’t the same.

They had plans. Plans to run away and be together forever, plans to start a family, grow old and die together, and dance as much as they could.

But then Schezerade ruined it all. With Sinbad’s death, their dreams died in heartbeats.

Fatima took a deep breath, and she felt a hand touch hers. She looked down at the hand on hers, then up at Dylan as he squeezed it a little, looking at her with a soft frown.

“Sorry.” He managed quietly. “Didn’t mean to bring up bad memories.”

“No, no, it’s okay.” She let go of his hand, nodding a little, trying not to think too much of it now. “Actually, I was wondering…”

Well, it would be nice to keep up the craft. She recalled how Dylan, only moments earlier, attempted to try to dance like her.

“Wondering what?” Dylan stared at her, gaze turning to confusion at this point. Fatima smiled, looking at the young teen, before answering.

“Maybe…I can teach you the dance?”

Dylan blinked. “With the scarves and everything?”

“Yeah. Do you want to try?” Fatima offered Dylan the fan, hoping that he’d take it.

Dylan looked down, hesitating, but then he took the fan from her. “Uh, okay. So….where do I start?”

* * *

The next fifteen-to-forty-five minutes consisted of Fatima teaching Dylan basic steps, trying her best to visually demonstrate to him how to move the fan along with said steps in sync. Cue Dylan’s various, many attempts, all of which either lacked timing, the sharpness and accuracy required to get the steps right, or both.

It also brought in a few stares from some of their fellow housemates that walked past the ballroom, particularly Mortimer who burst into laughter and started yelling to the rest of the house that he was no longer the worst dancer, but that just made Dylan pursue him in a wild goose-chase for a few minutes.

Fatima had to admit, internally, that Dylan had a lot to learn (and same with anyone else, if they learned any dancing from her). But, at least, both him and her had some fun trying to dance together.


	5. The Girlfriend Tag: Jetpack Girl & Riley!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riley and Jetpack Girl attempt the Girlfriend Tag.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note that I used the questions from *this* website for the sake of this chapter: https://gilrlikegirl.tumblr.com/post/161286167025/girlfriend-tag-questions-lesbian-edition
> 
> Please also note that I had to insert numerous headcanons on these two (especially since it's not like we get to know them too well in their canon episodes). Enjoy the cuteness of this chapter!

“Is this on? Hello?”

Jetpack Girl waved at the camera, just as Riley pulled back from said camera to sit on the couch with her. The two were in the parlor/lounge area of the mansion, because they figured it was the comfiest place to film. Also, that was where Janet and Alison filmed the initial greeting video, so the two figured they might as well keep the trend going there.

“Hi!” Jetpack Girl waved at the camera another time, grinning. “I’m Jetpack Girl, for those that don’t remember my name. I also go by Joanne, courtesy of Riley.”

“I’m Riley.” Riley managed, looking at the camera. “And today, we figured we’d try something we saw in a lot of videos. It’s called the girlfriend tag?”

“yeah.” Jetpack Girl held up a sheet of paper. “It’s a whole series of questions about us being girlfriends. Or at least, that’s the goal…there’s fifty of these things. Wow.”

“Fifty questions?” Riley stared at the paper, then at Jetpack Girl. “This must be a really big thing, then.”

“I guess so. Anyway,” Jetpack Girl looked towards Riley. “Wanna start?”

Riley nodded. “Sounds good!”

  1. _When and where did you meet?_



“In the Victorian Era.” Jetpack Girl managed, looking towards Riley, and then towards the camera. “We kind-of met just as the Sorceress was being defeated, but we didn’t exactly get the chance to chat until _after_ Riley offed her.”

Riley shuddered. “It wasn’t a good first impression.”

“Honestly, I thought it was a great impression. I just hate that you had to commit murder at the time, even if it was for good reason.”

  1. _What did you first notice about each other?_



“What I first noticed about Joanne…” Riley paused, before answering, “I remember her leading me away from the Sorceress and just kind-of hugging me at the time. We just hung out in the back garden to collect our bearings for a while, before we started cleaning up everything.”

“The first thing I noticed about Riley was when she got blocked the Promethean and I had to shoot it down.” Jetpack Girl answered, shrugging. “We were in a life and death situation at the time, so it’s not like we had a chance to just stare at each other or anything for a few moments.”

  1. _Who first asked the other out?_



“I would say it’s Joanne that first asked me out.” Riley managed, giggling. “I mean, I guess it wasn’t like she took me on a date, but she was the first one to confess her feelings.”

“In a way, Vincent made us get together.” Jepack Girl pointed out. “He wrote the two of us notes imitating each other’s handwriting to go see each other. He set us up!”

“We have him to thank for the two us being together.” Riley beamed at the camera. “Vincent, if you’re watching, thanks!”

  1. _Where was your first date?_



“Everlock?” Jetpack Girl asked. “Does that count?”

Riley shuddered. “I’m not so sure that really counted as a date.”

“But that was the first real outing we had. We don’t typically go outside of this mansion much, even if there is a village somewhat close to this place. Also, it’s not like we could hold hands in public or something like that. Things are different here than in 2020.”

  1. _Who said “I love you” first?_



“Uh…” Both of them exchanged awkward glances, then Jetpack Girl looked towards the camera, still maintaining an awkward stare.

“We…both did? Either both of us at once, or Riley did it first.”

“I think I said it first.” Riley paused, putting a hand to her chin, head tilted slightly. “And then you told me you loved me too, a moment afterwards.’

  1. _How did your first kiss happen? Who initiated it?_



“I initiated it.” Jetpack Girl felt her own face flush a little, before she buried it in a hand. “Ohmygod, I _completely_ screwed up.”

“We bumped teeth too much.” Riley’s face also flushed pink. “I think I bit her lip.”

“Yeah, I did. I bled. It was a tiny amount of bleeding, but still.”

“Didn’t you bleed from your gums, too?”

“Oh yeah! I cut my gums on your teeth!”

  1. _When is your anniversary?_



“Good question!” Jetpack Girl chuckled sheepishly at that. “We never really kept count of the exact day when we first got together, so…can every day be our anniversary?”

Riley couldn’t help but smile at that. “Sure! Happy anniversary!”

  1. _When is your girlfriend’s birthday? Who is older?_



“Neither of us really know our birthdays, so we can’t answer that part of the question.” Jetpack Girl managed. “It’s complicated. But out of the two of us, Riley is older than me by a hundred years, give or take.”

Riley sighed. “It sounds like I’m some old woman…I mean, I know I’m older, but still.”

“Aah! Sorry!”

“No, no, it’s okay! I’m not angry, promise!”

  1. _When did you meet each other’s parents and what was that like?_



“We haven’t met each other’s parents.” Jetpack Girl shrugged. “We never will, unfortunately, given our individual circumstances.”

“I don’t remember much about them.” Riley admitted. “I know they were good parents, though.”

Jetpack Girl smiled at that. “That’s good to know.”

  1. _What is a typical date night like for you and your girlfriend?_



“Let’s just go with a typical _night_ when it’s just the two of us.” Riley managed. “It seems easier than ‘date night,’ given that we both live together as is.”

“Fair.” Jetpack Girl paused, thinking. “Whenever it’s just the two of us hanging out alone, we might be just cuddling by the fireplace, or playing chess, or tinkering with all the spare inventions in the lab. Really depends on the mood.”

“That about sums it up.” Riley nodded in agreement.

  1. _What made you realize you were in love with her?_



“It’s not a what,” Jetpack Girl chuckled, “But a _who,_ in our case.”

“Vincent. Vincent made us realize we were in love with each other.” Riley immediately spoke, staring straight into the camera. “He had to spell it out us, honestly.”

Jetpack Girl couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s too true!”

  1. _Choose one word to describe your girlfriend. Why that word?_



“Brave.” Riley spoke up, pointing at Jetpack Girl with one hand. “Because she is one of the bravest people I know, and I am glad that she’s here.”

Jetpack Girl felt herself blush a bit. “Aw, Riley…thank you.”

Riley smiled at her, giving her a peck on the cheek. “You’re welcome.”

“As for you,” Jetpack Girl gave her a kiss on the cheek in return, eliciting a giggle, “I think you’re very caring. You’re always looking out for the rest of us, and I think that’s something all of us should try to do.”

  1. _Were you friends before you became lovers?_



Riley blinked, staring at the camera. “Well…technically, yes? We all got along well before the two of us got together as is.”

Jetpack Girl nodded. “That about sums it up, yeah.”

  1. _Have either of you dated a girl before getting with your girlfriend?_



Riley shuddered, deciding not to mention her one-hundred-year imprisonment on camera. “No.”

Jetpack Girl grimaced. “Same with me, it’s a no. I didn’t really socialize much with people my age because I was working for my boss so much.”

  1. _Have you ever been mistaken for sisters?_



“Yes.” Both of them answered it at the same time, before soft groans escaped them.

“It doesn’t help that we’re both blonde.” Riley admitted, just as Jetpack Girl scratched the back of her head.

“Honestly,” The shorter-haired blonde managed, “It also probably doesn’t help that we both appear to be around the same age, either. And every time, everyone that thinks we’re sisters often thinks that I’m the younger sister.”

“Well,” Riley giggled a little, “You are technically younger than me, so they’re not wrong…”

  1. _Do you get more support or hate from others towards your relationship?_



“More support, definitely.” Jetpack Girl answered, Riley nodding in agreement. “Probably helps that we’re all living together in the same house, in the same century. And all the Youtubers we helped are pretty supportive, too, so it’s honestly really nice.”

  1. _Have you faced any difficulties or prejudice because you are a same sex couple?_



Riley shook her head. “Not really. Then again, we’re not typically super-public with it, I think, so that probably helps avoid any potential difficulties. Also, the current living situation we have also helps with everyone being so supportive, as is.”

“We’re aware that this might be different elsewhere,” Jetpack Girl managed, “And for those who do have difficulties because of this, that sucks.

  1. _Do you do any PDA?_



Riley blushed. “Lots of hand-holding, honestly.”

“Cheek kisses on occasion.” Jetpack Girl managed.

Riley’s face only reddened. “When no one’s looking, of course!”

  1. _Does your girlfriend have any pets?_



“Currently, none of us have pets.” Jetpack Girl answered. “So…no.”

  1. _How do you usually spend your time together?_



“I don’t know. I mean,” Jetpack Girl scratched the back of her head, “We live together, so all of us naturally spend a lot of time together. Whenever it’s just the two of us, though, we

  1. _What is one thing your girlfriend does that you don’t like?_



“Probably trying to do something risky and potentially deadly without warning beforehand.”

Both of them said this at once, and then they both stared at each other.

“I…” Riley faltered, then managed, “I think that’s a talk we need to have off-camera.”

Jetpack Girl grimaced, nodding. “Agreed.”

  1. _What is your girlfriend’s favorite food? Least favorite food?_



“Joanne really likes roasted chicken.” Riley mused. “And I can see why. There’s something…homey, about it?”

Jetpack Girl chuckled a bit. “I just really like eating chicken. Riley likes all the baked goods, meanwhile.”

Cue Riley blushing on-camera. “I can’t help it! They taste really good! Also, Janet makes some really good brownies…”

  1. _How many people are in your girlfriend’s family?_



Both of them shrugged. “None.” At least, in terms of biological family.

  1. _What is your girlfriend’s favorite musical artist?_



“Musical artist?” Jetpack Girl shrugged. “I don’t really listen to a lot of music. It’s only recently that I got into a whole bunch of that ‘punk’ music…”

“I’m more used to instrumental music in general.” Riley admitted.

  1. _Do you have a couple song?_



Both of them exchanged awkward looks, then shook their heads.

“A couple song?” Jetpack Girl stared at the camera. “I didn’t know people had relationships based on a song.”

“That seems interesting.” Riley mused. “Do all people have relationships based on music in 2020?”

  1. _Do you have a couple name (i.e. Brangelina)?_



Riley blinked, then looked towards Jetpack Girl. “Do we have one?”

Jetpack Girl shrugged and scratched the back of her head. “I don’t know. Uh…you just have to combine both our names together, right? So….Jiley?”

“Roanne?”

“Rilanne?”

“Jetley? Or Joaley?”

“Joey?” Jetpack Girl asked, but Riley cringed.

“Maybe not _Joey.”_

Jetpack Girl nodded, grimacing. “That’s fair. What about Ro?”

“Isn’t that the name of the Jet Setter?” Riley asked.

“Oh yeah, that’s right. Um…RiJet?”

“Leyanne?”

Both of them eventually just gave up as they looked towards the camera again.

“It might take a while to figure it out.” Riley admitted. “However, we do have a name for Mortimer and Vincent, and that’s Morticent. Apparently someone on the internet made up that name, and it just stuck.”

  1. _What side of the bed do you sleep on?_



“Right.” Jetpack Girl called.

“Left.” Riley answered. Both of them beamed at each other at that, before Riley giggled. “At least that means we won’t fight over sides of the bed!”

  1. _Who is the better driver?_



“If you mean my jetpack,” Jetpack Girl managed, “I’m better at controlling it than anyone else in this house. Riley included.”

Riley shudder, shaking her head. “I’m scared of my hair going on fire if I used it, because it’s so long.”

“Maybe we can tie it in a bun? Would that work?”

“Maybe.”

  1. _Who is the better cook?_



Jetpack Girl just pointed at Riley. “It’s Riley. She started out okay as far as I know, but then she just got better than me and most of us in the house.”

“I do cook most of the meals.” Riley admitted, nodding. “It’s nice.”

“You’re brilliant.” Jetpack Girl looked like she was about to get on her knees. “Teach me your cooking ways, please! I still keep burning the chicken every time!”

Riley chuckled sheepishly. “Let’s try not using a blowtorch, first…”

  1. _Who is the better singer?_



Both of them pointed at each other immediately.

“What!? Riley, it’s obvious you’re better. You can sing higher!”

“You have a better volume, though. You can make yourself heard pretty easily…”

“So…does that mean, both of us? If we were to combine our voices?”

“That would be fun!”

  1. _Who is the better dancer?_



“Riley.” Jetpack Girl managed, just as Riley pointed at herself. “I am not good at waltzing whatsoever.”

“You’re better than Mortimer.” Riley reassured her, offering her a smile. “At least there’s that!”

Jetpack Girl chuckled a bit. “I hope he’s not mad later. He’s the one editing this after all.”

  1. _Can your girlfriend play any musical instruments?_



“I can play piano.” Riley answered.

Jetpack Girl shrugged. “I never really grew up playing any instruments, but Riley’s trying to teach me. It’s going…well, it’s going. That’s all.”

  1. _What is your girlfriend’s favorite TV show?_
  2. _What is your girlfriend’s favorite movie?_



“We don’t really have television or movies, given that we live in the Victorian Era, so we can’t really answer that.” Jetpack Girl managed, shrugging. “If we’re talking about books, though…that’s another story.”

Riley looked almost starry-eyed at the mention of books, smiling ear to ear. “I’d be happy to talk about books some other time. There are quite a few that I do adore…”

  1. _What do you and your girlfriend fight about the most?_



Both of them looked at each other quietly, then Riley sighed. “I think it has to be the fact that both of us, whenever we’ve went on a mission, end up doing something risky and potentially deadly without warning beforehand.”

“Too true.” Jetpack Girl shook her head. “Honestly, Riley was mad at me a little after the whole Maiden-of-Madness incident, after I got resurrected.”

“We’re better about it now.” Riley managed, looking towards the camera. “But…there’s no doubt it was still scary.”

“That’s true.”

  1. _How do you two get over a fight?_



“After the fight?” Riley paused, before answering. “Usually what happens is that we end up going to our own rooms, or somewhere else in the mansion away from each other to cool down for a bit, if things get heated. Then one of us ends up finding the other and we end up talking it all out. And cuddling afterwards.”

  1. _Who is your girlfriend’s #1 celebrity crush?_



“Do the Youtubers count as celebrities?” Jetpack Girl asked. “Because I heard of one that went on a celebrity dance show. Or actually, two of them.”

Riley blinked, staring at her. “Really? Were they any of the guests that we met?”

“No, they’re other Youtubers we haven’t met. One of them was on the British version and the other was on the American version of this dance show. I gotta show it to you later. But assuming the Youtubers are ‘celebrities,’ I don’t know.”

“I would go with Rosanna.” Riley mused. “Mainly just from meeting her. I have the feeling that we could bake a lot together.”

“And she is cute.” Jetpack Girl pointed out, nodding in agreement. “Yeah, I think I have to go with Ro, too.”

  1. _Does your girlfriend like and/or play any sports? If so, which ones? & 39\. What sports team(s) does your girlfriend root for?_



“I’m not really a sports person.” Jetpack Girl admitted.

Riley shrugged. “Neither am I.”

“So we’re gonna skip those two questions.”

  1. _What nationality(s) is your girlfriend?_



Jetpack Girl and Riley both stared at the camera for a few minutes.

“Do they mean…which country?” Riley asked. “I mean, we’re both from the same mansion, in the same era, in the same country, so…I don’t see how this one really applies…”

Jetpack Girl shrugged. “I think we can skip this one, too. Next!”

  1. _What is your girlfriend’s eye color?_



“Blue for Riley, brown for me.” Jetpack Girl managed, grinning softly.

  1. _What is one thing about your girlfriend most people don’t know?_



“Other than the fact that I didn’t have an actual first name until Riley gave me one?” Jetpack Girl shrugged. “I don’t know…”

“Not everyone knows that, so I think that counts.” Riley noted. “As for me, I think it’s the fact that I really like gardening.”

“She has a huge knowledge of plants.” Jetpack Girl managed, staring at the camera. “She’s even better than Calliope, Ryu and Jael at this stuff.”

“I read a lot of books about plants when I was a child.” Riley mused, closing her eyes briefly. “I guess I just retained a lot of it. I also did gardening, too, when I could…”

  1. _What are your pet names for each other?_



Riley giggled a bit. “I call her Jo sometimes. Short for Joanne.”

Jetpak Girl blushed, and had nothing else to say on it.

  1. _What is the #1 item on your girlfriend’s bucket list?_



“A bucket list?” Riley stared. “Why would people list buckets?”

“It’s a list of things you want to do before you die.” Jetpack Girl quickly explained. “Calliope told me earlier.”

“Ohh.” Riley tilted her head from side to side, presumably thinking, before answering, “Well, I don’t have a bucket list. Do you?”

“Uh…not really.” Jetpack Girl shrugged at that. “So I guess we can’t really answer this, huh?”

  1. _Does your girlfriend have any quirky habits?_



“Oh!” Riley looked between Jetpack Girl, then the camera. “She likes to catch any frogs that appear in the garden. And then she’ll put them in people’s rooms to prank them.”

“Excluding my girlfriend’s room.” Jetpack Girl quickly cut in, shaking her head. “It’s everyone but my girlfriend.”

“Mostly Dylan.” Riley mused. “Why?”

“It’s fun! Why not?”

“I still remember how you managed to put one in Ryu’s room while he was asleep.”

“And then he woke up to the frog on his face.” Jetpack Girl chuckled sheepishly. “That…might not have been the best idea…”

  1. _What is your girlfriend’s favorite animal?_



Jetpack Girl looked towards Riley. “You like birds?”

Riley nodded, smiling. “Yes.”

“They literally sing whenever she’s outside!” Jetpack Girl looked between her and the camera. “I don’t understand why. Manny and Nikita mentioned something about her being a ‘Disney princess,’ and we haven’t watched any Disney movies yet because Ryu and Jael keep forgetting to grab some whenever they go time travelling, but does this happen to every princess?”

Riley could only shrug. “I don’t know. I guess birds just really like me.”

  1. _Who squashes the bugs?_



“Riley.” Jetpack Girl sighed, burying her face in a hand. “I can’t…I can’t do it. I know that sounds weird, but I can’t do it.”

“The bugs somehow keep dodging her.” Riley managed in pure seriousness, staring at the camera. “But every time I squish them, they

  1. _What is your girlfriend’s favorite color?_



Riley looked down at her own dress, then up at the camera. “Pink.”

“I’m partial to green.” Jetpack Girl managed, before looking down at her own clothes. “Maybe I should get a change of wardrobe. I mean, I like my usual outfit, but it would be nice to change it up a little.”

“What shade of green?” Riley was examining her at this point, scanning her up and down with her gaze. “Maybe Janet might be able to help with this…”

  1. _Who spends more when shopping?_



“Riley.” Jetpack Girl quickly pointed out.

“You spend almost as much as me!” Riley tried to protest, but Jetpack Girl chuckled at that.

 _“Almost_ as much. But not as much as you!”

  1. _Pass on one piece of relationship advice._



Both of them looked at each other, looked at the camera, and then at each other again.

“Well…” Riley finally started, “I think a vital part is to be there for each other. And not just for fun cuddling and stuff, but that’s good too.” She pushed a few strands of hair behind her ear, before finishing. “You have to also be there for them when they’re having a rough time. At least ask them how they’re feeling and let them talk to you about it. Or if they don’t want to talk, that’s fine too, but ask how else you can be there for them. Or do something really nice for them as a surprise!”

“I agree with that entirely.” Jetpack Girl pointed out. “I especially think the last bit is very much a plus. The element of good surprises is crucial.”

Riley checked the list, then looked towards Jetpack Girl. “Is that all the questions?”

Jetpack Girl nodded. “Yup. And now we’re done!”

“That was fast.”

“Mhm.” Jetpack Girl leaned in to give Riley a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks for participating.”

Riley smiled, wrapping her arms around her to give her a hug. “You’re welcome…”

“Oh!” Jetpack Girl looked at the camera, beaming. “And click to subscribe, as they say? I don’t know.”

“We don’t have an actual Youtube channel.” Riley pointed out. “And we don’t have any bells lying around to ring, either. So…ring some at home?”

“I don’t know if they use actual bells every time.”

“I don’t know, either…”


	6. Another Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vincent gets news about someone he knew, and reunites with them. Further revelations are made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick disclaimer: I am not a priest from the 1920s, nor do I know any, so it’s very likely I wrote something historically inaccurate. I know historical accuracy goes out the window with shows like Escape The Night, but I just felt the need to point it out in case I wrote something grievously wrong. Also, this is the first time I’ve written Fr. David Santos in an Escape The Night fic, ever, so I hope I did his character justice in general. Thanks for your patience and understanding!

“Vincent?”

Vincent hadn’t been doing much other than sitting down and reading (Mortimer went out with Jetpack Girl to the local nearby village to buy some food, and the others in the house were occupied with other things), when he looked up to see Calliope standing in the doorway. “Yes?”

“Are you available? I’ve got some news.” She didn’t look worried, but her gaze held a near all-knowingness to them, for a lack of better words in Vincent’s opinion.

“I am.” Vincent put his book down after putting a bookmark in it, before looking up at the Society Against Evil member. “What is it?”

“Do you remember Father David Santos?” She took a deep breath, before moving to sit down beside him in a nearby chair, to face him properly. “I just found out that he’s been hiding out at the Society Against Evil headquarters this whole time.”

“Wait, _what?”_ Vincent couldn’t believe what he was hearing. One of the other owners that was freed from the mansion he once was trapped in… “He’s at the headquarters?” He tried to recall the numersou times he went to the headquarters for therapy sessions. He didn’t recall seeing Santos there. Maybe he’d been in another area of the headquarters at the time.

“That’s right.” Calliope nodded. “Santos. Do you remember him? The priest?”

Vincent could only nod. He remembered him. Father Santos was a kind man. A good man. Unlike the other previous owners of the house, Santos was…one of the better ones. A priest, and very devoted to his faith (or was, until the failed exorcism dealt a heavy blow to said faith). Given that the priest was one of the previous owners even before Vincent arrived, the former madman was aware that Santos must’ve been freed long before he was.

“Turns out he’s been there for the past year and a bit, around the same time you arrived at the headquarters in that coma.” Calliope managed. “He made a request to see you.”

“Would he be coming here, to the mansion?” Vincent asked.

“For his own protection, and yours, we figured it was best you see him directly at headquarters for now. That’s where he’s been living the whole time since.” She answered, a soft frown on his face. “Of course, he understand if you don’t want to.”

“I’d be happy to see him.” The words left Vincent’s lips before the thought even passed through his mind. “He was good to me, even if we didn’t talk much at the time. It would be good to catch up.”

“Very well.” Calliope offered him a smile. “I can take you to see him as soon as two days from now. He’s resting from a previous mission helped the some other Society members with, but he should be fine by then.”

Vincent barely remembered what Santos looked like, or how he sounded. He remembered the other man filled with grief at losing his faith, desperately looking for hope in his dark hour. At least the guests back then freed him, right? Who died to save him?

Vincent wondered if any of the guests that he and his friends from the Museum were one of the ones that died to save Santos, in the first place. He wasn’t sure. Maybe he could get answers, while he was there. He had many questions as is, after all.

* * *

Only two days later, just as Calliope promised, Vincent was escorted to the Society Against Evil Headquarters. Vincent felt a bit out of place, given that there were many dressed in the uniforms of the Society Against Evil members like Jael, Calliope and Ryu were, while others donned different suits, perhaps identifying as more administrative-type members. After a long walk through hallways, a few elevator trips, and another walk down a hallway, Vincent finally came face to face with Father David Santos. The room they met in likely wasn’t Santos’ room, and appeared more like a garden where one could sit back and have some tea. Hell, there was even a table set up with two chairs facing each other, and Santos sat in one of them.

“Father Santos?” Calliope spoke up. “Vincent’s here.”

Santos got up from his chair, turning to face his guest. He looked the same as when Vincent last got a glimpse of him, all those years ago. Santos’ hair was greying, he clearly still wore the priest robes, but he looked like he got a decent night’s sleep for once. He put the rosary he held away in his pocket, before offering him a peaceful smile. “Vincent. It’s good to see you.”

“It’s been too long,” Vincent breathed, just as Santos gestured for him to sit on the chair opposite him.

“I was very worried about you.” Santos managed. “And I’m glad you are safe.”

Calliope excused herself, leaving the two alone to talk. Santos paused, watching her go, before looking towards Vincent as he sat down.

“Please,” Santos managed, looking Vincent in the eye, “Tell me everything. What happened?”

* * *

Vincent proceeded to tell Fr. Santos _everything,_ as requested _._

The whole summary of events took approximately an hour and a half to get through, but Santos understood the following:

  1. Vincent made good friends and lives with them (there are ten of said friends), and he currently attended therapy at headquarters for his mental wellbeing. That is good. (Santos thanks God, as well as the guests that were in the mansion that night, that Vincent is safe and sound.)
  2. He was involved in a place called Everlock in the 1970s (something Santos already knew, and didn’t approve of because of how _bloody dangerous_ it was there).
  3. Vincent fell in love with one Mortimer Wilson the same night he went to Everlock (that event, Santos did not know until now. He knows that there are mixed opinions on relationships such as the one Vincent has with Mortimer, but as far as Santos is concerned, as long as the two are happy together, that’s fine with him).
  4. Vincent and his new friends recently went to a Museum of the Dead located in Purgatory, which is completely _nothing_ like what Santos has learned and even taught to others about Purgatory. (It makes Santos wonder if that place was just Hell itself, given the terrifying things that happened in there. He wouldn’t be surprised. After all, there are ideas of there being various circles of Hell, and that could’ve been one of them.)
  5. Arthur is (unfortunately) alive and not currently burning in Hell due to escaping Purgatory, though at least he doesn’t have his hands on Pandora’s Box and is currently imprisoned in the Society Against Evil Headquarters. (It makes Santos shiver, knowing that the man that once imprisoned him and Vincent still lives and is in the same general area as him right now.)
  6. Everyone living with Vincent _also_ currently all go to therapy on a somewhat regular basis, which isn’t surprising given the varying-yet-still-traumatizing events they’ve lived through. And yes, they’re currently safe. (Santos internally prays that God has mercy on their souls, for this whole group of people that went through many nightmarish scenarios as bad as or worse than demonic possession, and he hopes that their suffering will be alleviated during this current time and for the rest of their lives.)



Santos couldn’t help but lean far, _far_ back in his chair as he listened to everything. It’s fantastical, shocking, and near-unbelievable all at once. And yet, he knew too well this was definitely real. To think that this all happened in approximately two-to-three years is…frightening, for lack of better words.

But Santos also knew that, at least, all that happened to Vincent and his friends was over. They were all alive. And even better? They managed to save everyone they found in Everlock and the Museum of the Dead, so at least they saved _twenty lives_ despite the danger (and despite two of Vincent’s friends temporarily dying and then resurrecting later due to various circumstances, likely traumatized from said deaths).

Given all of that in context, Vincent’s current living situation seemed ideal. Santos just hoped the man wouldn’t get whisked into other dangerous scenarios too soon.

“So, that’s all that happened to me.” Vincent took a deep breath, his gaze looking into Santos’ own. “What about you? I know you were in a coma, but what have you been up to, since then?”

Santos forced himself to sit up properly in his chair before starting to answer. “Well…I’ve been working with the Society Against Evil all this time. I woke up nine months before you did, so I didn’t have much else to do.”

“I’m surprised they didn’t send you straight to another place in the 1920s and wiped your memory.”

Santos grimaced. “They considered it. They didn’t go through with it, though. They were dealing with demons in other places, and they figured a priest specializing in exorcism might be helpful. They asked me only a day or two after I woke up.”

“And they picked you up like that so soon?” Vincent looked like he was about to lean far back in his chair. Santos did not blame him for feeling so shocked, given the oddness of the situation. “So you’ve been exorcising demons for the Society Against Evil this whole time?”

“It’s a part of it. But not all of it.” Santos reassured him. He did need time in between to rest from how strenuous such experiences could be, and even if it was for the Society Against Evil, taking time to rest in between was no exception. “In exchange for my help, they’ve let me stay here. I don’t know the whole bulk of what is going on with Arthur, or this Pandora’s Box they mentioned recently, but I assume it can’t be anything good.”

“Arthur said that it would mark the beginning of our doom.” Vincent vaguely recalled Arthur’s sneer, the way the man nearly laughed at hearing that Joey was stuck inside that box. “I think…it has something to do with the Cursed God. Have you ever heard of such a god before?”

Santos frowned, brows furrowing, before shaking his head. “Not that I know of. I don’t know how much any of the Society would tell us about it, honestly. And as much as I hate to say it, ignorance may be bliss, for our individual situations. Then again…”

Vincent sighed, shaking his head. “I don’t think we’re going to be that far from the truth of all of,” He gestured vaguely with a hand, “this. They have to tell us at some point, right?”

“I don’t know. That might be something we’ll have to dig into.” Santos knew too well that he and Vincent were not people that could just turn a blind eye to evil forces at work. They were people that got caught up in these situations, and would continue to be, most likely. At the very least, they had allies by their side this time, whether it be in the form of close friends, or a whole organization.

* * *

Speaking of people…Vincent realized Santos hadn’t mentioned anything about the other former owners trapped in the mansion, so he brought it up to him. “What happened to them?”

“To who?”

“The other owners.”

Santos’ gaze fell to his hands clutching the cross in his lap, then up at Vincent again. He remembered waking up, long ago, and asking that same question. “According to what I know, Madison passed on peacefully. The same goes for Arthur’s brother. As for Colin…they had no choice but to lock him in a sanitorium. I don’t know the details regarding why. It’s likely he’s dead by now.”

“I see.” Vincent swallowed. Neither he nor Santos had really talked to the others much, given their imprisoned states, but at least two of them had passed on peacefully. And Vincent never liked Colin, anyway, so he didn’t feel too bad about the greedy man’s fate. “And…I was also wondering…Who died to save you? Do you remember?”

“You remember the people that saved us from that hell?” Santos asked, raising a brow.

Vincent nodded. “Mainly the one that died to save me. Lele. She wore a dress…pearls around her neck, long gloves, hair in a braided bun…”

Santos paused, then spoke. “There was a young woman who wore a crown, and this white lacey dress. Brunette. She and her friends were who found me. I do remember the pearl-necked one with them, too. They left my sight to get the sign of my faith, but…when they returned with it, the crowned one wasn’t with them. I presume she had to die, to save me.” Santos faltered, then his gaze shot towards the other’s eyes. “Did you see her in there?”

Vincent tried to recall a crown-wearing brunette woman, but he didn’t. “I don’t think I saw her in the Museum, no.”

“She’s likely passed on for good, then.” Vincent thought he heard Santos whisper a quick prayer under his breath, before he continued speaking. “I hope she’s in peace.”

Vincent nodded. He’d never met this crowned-wearing one, but part of him had a feeling this might be the one named Sierra that Matt Haag mentioned, during the journey through the Museum. “I hope so, too.”

“But you mentioned there were others that got out from the Museum?”

“Yes. Lele, Matt, Justine and Tim…”

“That’s good. I’m glad.” Santos swallowed. “They’re innocent of this entire situation. They shouldn’t have been hurt. Same goes for their other friends.”

“Agreed.”

“Speaking of safety….” Santos looked up at Vincent again. “I have something to confess. It’s about you, actually.”

“Me?” Vincent blinked, staring back at him. “What is it?”

 _“I_ was the one that requested that you be sent to the Victorian Mansion.”

What? Vincent faltered, absorbing the new information. _Santos_ was the one behind him ending up in the same era as Jetpack Girl and Riley? “It…was you?”

“Yes.” The priest looked about to lower his gaze, out of guilt more than anything, but he didn’t. “By the time you were set to wake, I was already in too deep with helping the Society, given the constant exorcisms and so on. When I overheard about this ‘Sorceress’ being defeated at the Victorian Mansion, I requested that you be sent to the mansion instead of someplace else in the 1920s. By sending you to the mansion, I thought I could protect you from any further evil, _especially_ if the evil was already banished from that place by the time you arrived. I didn’t know they had plans to send you and your friends to Everlock, afterwards. All I thought was that it would be easier for you to cope with what you went through, if you were with good people and in a safe location. It might not be the same era that _we_ came from, but at least you would be fine, and out of all of this.”

 _And then Everlock happened._ Vincent couldn’t imagine how upset Santos might’ve been, trying to send him to safety only to find out that he was in danger again, with nothing he could do about it.

“I’m sorry.” Santos’ voice trembled, and Vincent noticed Santos shake his head a little. “If I’d known they planned to send you, Jetpack Girl and Riley to Everlock, I would’ve stopped them from sending that invitation.”

“It’s not your fault.” Vincent leaned forwards a bit, looking Santos in the eye. “Me and my friends chose to go there. And in the end, we lived. That’s what matters.”

“You’re right. I can’t ponder too much about what could have happened.”

“After all,” The former madman offered the priest a grin, “If I hadn’t went, I wouldn’t have met Mortimer.”

“That’s also fair, I suppose.” Santos’ voice sounded more even, now, his shoulders relaxing slightly. “I’m glad you two are happy together.”

“Thanks.” Vincent paused, then asked, “Maybe you can meet him? And my other friends? Or…” He paused, then smiled. “What if you moved in with all of us?”

“Moved in?” Santos had his turn to stare at Vincent. “You mean that?”

Vincent could only nod. “I think it would be nice. All of us are from different eras, and we’ve been through similar situations, so I think we’re mostly on the same page. And I think they’d like you.”

“Father Santos?” The two turned to see a Society Against Evil member and Calliope standing at the doorway. “Apologies for the interruption, but there’s someone that would like to speak with you, and urgently.”

“Of course.” Santos managed. “Vincent and I were just finishing up.” He looked towards Vincent, offering him a soft smile. “I’m glad we could talk, again. And I hope you and your friends will be safe.”

“Will you consider it?” Vincent asked. “Staying with me and my friends?”

“I will. I’ll have to ask the higher-ups about it, but I do think it would be lovely to at least come over to your home and visit you and your friends, if not stay with you.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. And,” Santos paused, then offered him a peaceful smile. “God bless you and your friends.”

* * *

Santos watched Vincent and Calliope leave together. Santos had only talked to Calliope a couple times, but she seemed like a good person. He knew from what Vincent told him that she and the others were kind souls. It would be nice to pay them a visit, at the very least. He was glad that Vincent and his friends were at peace with each other. Peace was what they needed.

As the Society Against Evil member led him out of the meeting room and down the hallways, however, Santos had a sinking feeling as of who wanted to speak to him.

His hunch was correct when the cell door opened to reveal a very familiar face sitting at a table, handcuffed. Despite the captive position, however, the man sneered as he looked up at the priest.

“Hello, Father Santos. Long time no see.”

Santos quietly prayed in his heart for guidance, as he stared down the other man.

“Hello…Arthur.”


	7. The Boyfriend Tag: Mortimer and Vincent!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vincent and Mortimer attempt the Boyfriend Tag. Chaos ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE NOTE: I just copied the same questions from the Girlfriend Tag on this page and edited the pronouns/words to fit the guys here, as I couldn’t find any actual LGBTQ+-specific boyfriend tag question lists that were the same length/had the exact same questions as this one. https://gilrlikegirl.tumblr.com/post/161286167025/girlfriend-tag-questions-lesbian-edition
> 
> I hope you all enjoy reading!

Vincent and Mortimer both sat on the couch, after Mortimer leaned back to sit after making sure the camera is on.

“Hi, I’m Mortimer.” Mortimer beamed at the camera with the usual easygoing smile of his.

“I’m Vincent.” Vincent managed, trying to smile as best as he could. He averted his gaze from the camera slightly, and then looked towards Mortimer. “And…we’re doing the boyfriend tag?”

“Yeah. Except we really just copied Jetpack Girl and Riley’s questions, because we couldn’t find a gender-flipped version that had the same amount or same questions.” Mortimer managed. “I’m sure the others will be okay, though.”

Vincent nodded. “Agreed. Shall we get started?”

  1. _When and where did you meet?_



“Easy. Everlock.” Mortimer pointed out. “October thirteenth, 1978.”

“It was a Friday.” Vincent added. “Friday the thirteenth.”

“That makes me think of a film by the same name that we watched recently…” Mortimer shuddered.

Vincent winced. “Let’s _try_ to avoid discussion of horror movies here, for our sakes.”

“Fair point.”

  1. _What did you first notice about each other?_



“Honestly, I thought he was pretty handsome from the get-go.” Mortimer chuckled a bit. “I mean, have you seen how _strong_ he is? And kind and so on?”

Vincent felt himself blush a little at that. “You’re charming, yourself. I didn’t tell you at the time, but you calling me Brownie made me feel kind of…flattered? I assume you called me that because of my hair?”

“Uh, yeah.” Mortimer scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “Glad you like it.”

  1. _Who first asked the other out?_



“More like who asked the other to _move in_ with him.” Mortimer laughed a bit, just as Vincent’s face flushed. “And after the first night we met, too!”

“You didn’t have anywhere to go after everything that happened.” Vincent pointed out quickly. “I wasn’t too surprised that you wanted to stay with me, Riley and Jetpack Girl, honestly. And, well, I’m just glad you didn’t go anywhere else. I would’ve missed you.”

“Aww.” Mortimer couldn’t help but smile. “Honestly, moving in with you and the others was probably the best decision I ever made. And even if I did leave…I would’ve missed you, too.”

  1. _Where was your first date?_



“Everlock?”

As soon as Mortimer turned the answer itself into a question, Vincent stared at him. “Does that _count,_ given the circumstances?”

“We _did_ make out with each other.” Mortimer pointed out. “Also, same goes for the Museum of the Dead, if that counts as a date.”

“I don’t think it should.”

“You’re right. Bad idea.”

  1. _Who said “I love you” first?_



Both men had to take a moment to think, before Vincent answered.

 _“Technically,_ Mortimer. Though he didn’t say it outright. He did ask me if I loved him, though. And I said yes.”

Mortimer blinked. “Doesn’t that make you the one that said ‘I love you’ first, then?”

“But you implied saying it when you asked me the question in the first place!”

“Well…”

Both men were blurred out, with the words ‘please stand by’ printed on the screen. Mortimer’s voiceover could be heard. “We took approximately _twenty minutes_ to answer this question because we got into a brief spat over who said ‘I love you’ first due to all the technicalities and stuff. In short, we both said it within the same hour at some point, so it doesn’t matter too much in the long run. We’ve definitely said ‘I love you’ tons of times after that.”

  1. _How did your first kiss happen? Who initiated it?_



“Vincent asked. I obliged.” Mortimer beamed at the camera.

Vincent did his best to not blush for the umpteenth time, but failed. “We were sitting right beside each other!”

“And you literally went for it!” Mortimer chuckled at that, his gaze turning towards Vincent. “Honestly, I didn’t know you had it in you, but you really surprised me.”

“In a good way, right?”

“Yeah. Definitely.”

  1. _When is your anniversary?_



“We have no clue, because neither of us kept count.” Vincent answered. “According to Joanne and Riley, though, they just made the day of filming their video the day of their anniversary. Perhaps we should do the same?”

Mortimer shrugged. “Seems good to me!”

  1. _When is your boyfriend’s birthday? Who is older?_



“Vincent’s probably older than me,” Mortimer managed, “Given that he comes from the 1920s while I’m from the 1970s. So he’s, like, fifty years older than me?”

“I don’t think I’m literally that old.” Vincent sighed, scratching the back of his head. “I don’t _feel_ that old, at least. It’s a bit tricky. Especially since both of us currently live in the Victorian Era, which took place long before either of us were even existing.”

“Yeah…time is weird. Then again, we’re all weird.”

  1. _When did you meet each other’s parents and what was that like?_



“Meeting Janet was _interesting.”_ Vincent managed, swallowing. “Given the life-and-death circumstances, it was actually quite calm.”

“Calm is a way to put it.” Mortimer managed. “I’m just glad my mom wasn’t a homophobe. I didn’t even tell her I was bi prior to introducing you to her at the time, so I was a little worried about that. Given all that, I’m just glad it went well. I’m glad she’s _alive_ again.”

“Your mom is great.’ Vincent managed. “As for my own parents, I don’t think Mortimer will be meeting them, too soon. I don’t remember much about them. It’s likely due from my past experiences prior to even getting stuck in the mansion in the 1920s, but still. I don’t know how they would’ve reacted to me and Mortimer being together. Probably not well.”

  1. _What is a typical date night like for you and your boyfriend?_



“We cuddle. We talk. Um.” Mortimer tried to think. “We often fall asleep together.”

“How many details are we giving here?” Vincent asked, raising a brow.

Mortimer shrugged. “I dunno. I mean, there are plenty of other things we can talk about, but…”

“Which things, though!?”

Cue both of them talking to each other on camera, but they were muted and blurred out slightly. A voiceover came on again, saying: “Hi there. Mortimer and Vincent here on editing. We kind of got into some not-safe-for-the-camera discussion so we had no choice but to cut this all out.”

“We rambled on about it for _fifteen minutes_ before Calliope pointed it out from off-camera.” Vincent commented, groaning. “I can see why Calliope and your mom try to limit us talking about our love lives, now.”

“And honestly,” Mortimer was heard chuckling, “Might as well leave that private and away from our friends. They can just go ahead and guess.”

  1. _What made you realize you were in love with him?_



Both Mortimer and Vincent exchanged awkward glances with each other. Vincent paused, face flushing, before asking, “Do you want to go first?”

“Uh…sure.” Mortimer cleared his throat, before looking towards the camera. “I think what made me realize that I was in love with Vincent was the fact that…I mean, sure, I knew we were interested in each other to an extent. But after we had our first kiss, I was pretty sure I was in love with him. How can you not love him? He’s literally one of the kindest people I’ve ever met. He’s also brave, and strong, and so caring, and...I could go on for a few hours about this.”

Vincent couldn’t help but chuckle a bit as he looked towards Mortimer. “I appreciate that, and…honestly, same answer goes for when I realized I was in love with you. I didn’t expect the first kiss to really happen, but then it did. And then I realized I felt those feelings about you after the kiss, and when you asked me if I loved you.”

“And you said yes.” Mortimer pointed out, smiling at him. Vincent couldn’t help but smile at him in return.

  1. _Choose one word to describe your boyfriend. Why that word?_



Mortimer stared blankly at the camera. “How am I supposed to choose one word?”

Vincent immediately stated, “Charming. Mortimer is very charming.”

Mortimer’s face flushed lightly at that, and he rubbed the back of his neck a bit, chuckling. “Aww, thanks. You’re charming too.”

“Me?”

“Yeah!”

  1. _Were you friends before you became lovers?_



“No.”

“Yes.”

Both of them stared at each other. “What?”

“Well,” Vincent felt his face flush, “We only _just met_ when we got together, when you think about it. It was only about five hours in, before the kissing happened?”

“Something like that.” Mortimer mused. “But we were getting along during those five hours before we kissed, so we can technically say we were friends before we were lovers.”

“Is that how it works? Technicalities?”

“Given the whole situation in context, I don’t see why not.”

  1. _Have either of you dated a guy before getting with your boyfriend?_



Vincent shook his head. “Not in my case. I never actually dated anyone, period. I was going through some other things that occupied me.” He shuddered, shaking his head. He did _not_ want to think of his time in the sanitorium with Dr. Price right now. “So, when I realized I loved Mortimer, it was definitely surprising.”

“In my case, no, but I did _flirt_ with a few before.” Mortimer admitted. “I kinda stopped after some of the other folks started giving me weird looks whenever I flirted with a guy, though, and I didn’t want to get in trouble with my mom at the time, because I didn’t know if that was something she was okay with, so I never brought it up to her back then. I didn’t want to get in trouble for it.”

“The people we’ve met,” Vincent looked towards Mortimer, “The people we had to save, that is…they seem a lot more open with this sort of thing, don’t they?”

“This quiz is from some point in 2000 and beyond.” Mortimer shrugged. “I guess people are more tolerant, over there.”

  1. _Have you ever been mistaken for brothers?_



“No.” Both of them answered at once.

“Some people did think we were _cousins,_ though.” Mortimer quickly pointed out. “Mainly ‘cause we both have the brown hair.”

“But it’s not even the same shade.” Vincent argued. “It still doesn’t make sense to me.”

  1. _Do you get more support or hate from others towards your relationship?_



“Support.” Both of them answered at once.

“Calliope, Jael and Ryu seem fine with it. Same with Dylan, Fatima and Alison.” Mortimer listed. “And then, of course, there’s my mom, and she’s fine with it, and Riley and Jetpack Girl are in love, so they understand the whole thing.”

“I think Father Santos was fine with it as well.” Vincent noted.

“Wait, what? Santos?” Mortimer turned to face him, blinking. “That’s the old priest you told me about…You met him?”

“At the headquarters a couple days ago, yes. Turns out he’s been living there in safety for the past year or so, since escaping Arthur back then.”

“Do you think he wants to move in here?”

Vincent faltered. “I was thinking of that, actually. I brought up the idea when I talked with him, but we’ll see if that actually happens. He’s busy helping the SAE a lot with demon-related cases, so that’s an issue if he has to constantly come and go.”

“Ah. Fair. Seems like a cool guy, though.”

  1. _Have you faced any difficulties or prejudice because you are a same sex couple? & 18\. Do you do any PDA?_



“Other than being occasionally teased about our love lives, in terms of difficulties? Not much. And I think it’s because we live in the same house with nine other people that are completely understanding about this.” Mortimer managed. “Also, we don’t go out of the house often, and I’m sure there are probably people that might have objections to us being a thing out there, so we don’t really do PDA. In the house, though? That’s different.”

Vincent visibly blushed. “I think it’s because of the fact that we keep it in the house that it gives Jael and Ryu the opportunity to tease us at times…”

  1. _Does your boyfriend have any pets?_



“We currently don’t have any pets.” Vincent answered, shaking his head. “It’s more than enough living with nine other people at this point. Mortimer tried to adopt a bat that was in the chimney. It didn’t end well.”

Mortimer shuddered. “Definitely not doing that again.”

  1. _How do you usually spend your time together?_



“Uh…depends.” Vincent felt his face flush as he looked towards Mortimer, and then the camera. “Sometimes Mortimer plays the guitar and I just listen. Other times we just talk about things or

  1. _What is one thing your boylfriend does that you don’t like?_



Vincent sighed. “When he clings to me first thing in the morning, when I’m trying to get out of bed.”

“The bed is _so cold_ without you in it! It can be really cold in here sometimes, and we’re still trying to fix the heater right now, so…”

“Fair,” The other stated, “but I do need to be able to get up and use the bathroom. It’s a miracle I get there in time sometimes.”

“Ohmygod.” Mortimer paused, before speaking. “As for my answer, it’s probably the fact that Vincent does not understand 1970s slang, despite the entire time that we’ve been dating. I’m still trying to help him understand it.”

“To be fair,” Vincent immediately pointed out, “I’m from the 1920s. I’m fifty years behind.’

“We’ve been dating for at least a year!”

“Still!”

  1. _What is your boyfriend’s favorite food? Least favorite food?_



“I can’t handle spicy stuff.” Mortimer winced. “Somehow, Vincent is capable of doing so.”

“I think I just have a better tolerance.” Vincent pointed out. “It’s not my favourite, either, but I can tolerate it. Mortimer really likes cotton candy, though.”

“It’s pure sugar.” Mortimer pointed out. “How am I supposed to not love it?”

“He might have a bigger sweet tooth than Riley in the house.” Vincent chuckled. “And that’s saying something.”

“As for you…” Mortimer looked towards Vincent, “You’re more of a savoury food kind of guy, right?”

“Yes.” Vincent nodded. “It’s amazing how good a well-made sandwich can be.”

“Sandwiches, huh?” Mortimer paused, a hum leaving him. “Is that why you were practically salivating when I tried making those chicken sandwiches the other day?”

“Yeah. And I was sad when they didn’t turn out as well as we hoped.”

“Hey! I tried!”

“I _know_ you’re getting better, don’t worry…Just add less mustard next time, okay?”

  1. _How many people are in your boyfriend’s family?_



“Mortimer has his mom.” Vincent answered. “And…that’s about it?”

“Yeah, basically. Dad died in a fire, when I was really young, so I didn’t get to know him. What about you?”

“I don’t think I have any at this point, though I did have both parents growing up. We weren’t too close, though. Not like you and your mom.”

  1. _What is your boyfriend’s favorite musical artist?_



“David Bowie.” Mortimer beamed. “He’s _amazing.”_

Vincent chuckled a little. “Mortimer’s been slowly trying to get me into Bowie’s music. It’s definitely a different sound than what I’d hear back in the 20s…”

  1. _Do you have a couple song?_



“We’re trying to find one right now.” Vincent answered, looking towards the camera.

“Give us suggestions.” Mortimer grinned, pointing between himself and Vincent. “Maybe we can just have a video exclusively about trying to figure out a couple song!”

“Depends on if we can get records, though.” Vincent managed. “They might not use records in their era compared to ours.”

“Huh. Fair point…”

  1. _Do you have a couple name (i.e. Brangelina)?_



“Morticent.” Mortimer beamed at the camera. “That’s what everyone else is calling us these days, and it makes sense, so why not?”

“I can see how it makes sense.” Vincent managed. “It would be either that, or Vincimer, and I think Morticent just…rolls off the tongue, better.”

“Agreed!”

  1. _What side of the bed do you sleep on?_



Vincent tried not to groan as he frowned, shaking his head. “Both of us prefer the left side of the bed. Which is a major reason why Mortimer ends up clinging to me when we wake up in the morning, I think.”

Mortimer chuckled sheepishly. “Actually, I think that makes tons of sense, now that you mention it…oops.”

  1. _Who is the better driver?_



“If it’s motorcycles, it’s me.” Mortimer managed. “As for cars? Well…”

“we can’t really figure that one out.” Vincent managed. “I don’t have a license, neither does Mortimer, and we definitely don’t have a car here, so we can’t say.”

“What about a horse-drawn carriage?” Mortimer pointed out, a gasp leaving him. “We could try driving one!”

“We need to get one first, though. And I’m pretty sure Calliope wouldn’t let us near one.”

“I’m sure one of the other folks in the small town close to this place could let us borrow it!”

  1. _Who is the better cook?_



“Vincent.” Mortimer’s head dropped in shame. “I…I’m getting better, but I’m nowhere near his or Riley’s levels. The sandwiches I made the other day were a disaster.”

“It was just an overload of condiments.” Vincent reassured him. “You just need to add less, next time.”

“Thanks, babe.”

  1. _Who is the better singer?_



Both of them looked between each other, before they could only shrug.

“I have no clue.”

“Neither do I.”

“We need to figure that out sometime.”

  1. _Who is the better dancer?_



Mortimer shrugged. “Vincent, by a landslide. I can barely dance compared to him.”

Vincent offered his boyfriend a sheepish grin. “You’re getting better…I think…”

  1. _Can your boyfriend play any musical instruments?_



“Mortimer plays the guitar. I know some piano.” Vincent answered.

“We should play together more.” Mortimer pointed out, looking towards him. “It could be interesting.”

Vincent nodded in agreement, softly smiling back.

  1. _What is your boyfriend’s favorite TV show?_



Mortimer beamed, immediately breaking into a whole list of shows. “M*A*S*H, Scooby-Doo, General Hospital, The Incredible Hulk, Godzilla….”

Vincent just stared at the camera. “I…in all honesty, I don’t know or remember any of these shows. I think it’s the fifty-year time difference kicking in…”

  1. _What is your boyfriend’s favorite movie?_



“We’re trying to figure that out.” Mortimer managed. “Neither of us can find a favourite movie, yet.”

“It’s really hard to do a movie marathon for three days in a row to figure this out.” Vincent managed. “We have too many other little things to worry about, like getting enough sleep. Eating. All the usual things like going to therapy on time, for example.”

“Maybe it was a bad idea to try watching _Final Destination_ the day before _both_ of us had to go to headquarters for therapy sessions.” Mortimer finally added, before shuddering. “Neither of us slept that night.”

“Let’s just cross off every popular horror movie for now.” Vincent managed. “I don’t think it’s helping.”

“I completely agree.”

  1. _What do you and your boyfriend fight about the most?_



Both of them looked between each other, and then towards the camera.

“Probably the fact that both of us tend to be overprotective of each other.” Vincent finally managed. “The fact that we look out for each other is good, but sometimes I think we both have to realize that we are also capable of individually handling things. And to not blame ourselves immediately if one of us gets hurt.”

Mortimer slowly nodded in agreement. “Yeah…that’s an issue. For justifiable reasons, given all that we went through, I think, but still. It’s something we have to work out the most.”

“I don’t think being in so many life-and-death situations helped, either.” Vincent added, looking towards Mortimer, swallowing a little. “But we’ll make things work.”

“Yeah.” Mortimer looked Vincent in the eye, taking one of his hands in his own and squeezing it. “We will.”

  1. _How do you two get over a fight?_



“We talk and hug it out.” Vincent answered. “That’s usually what happens.”

“Yeah.” Mortimer nodded. “I’d say the same thing.”

  1. _Who is your boyfriend’s #1 celebrity crush?_



“We actually had to ask Riley and Jetpack Girl about this question, because we don’t know a lot of celebrities.” Mortimer shrugged. “Everlock’s a small town, so it’s not like I know a ton of stars. According to them, they just used the Youtubers as examples, so we’ll copy their lead.”

“I don’t know if I have a ‘crush’ on any of them.” Vincent noted, brows furrowing in thought. “I mean, they are all very nice people. And I appreciate them as friends.”

“Lele doesn’t count?”

Vincent shrugged. “I don’t think of her in that way, either. I know it’s not a serious thing, a celebrity crush that is, but I don’t really have any.”

“Neither do I, honestly.” Mortimer offered him a soft grin. “And that’s fine.”

  1. _Does your boyofriend like and/or play any sports? If so, which ones?_
  2. _What sports team(s) does your boyfriend root for?_



“I was not an athletic person.” Mortimer managed, staring straight into the camera. “Never, ever.”

Vincent shrugged. “I remember playing some basketball, but it was with colleagues and nothing serious.”

“Do you have any teams you cheer for?”

“Not really. You?”

“None.”

  1. _What nationality(s) is your boyfriend?_



“Uh…” Mortimer and Vincent both stared at the camera, then each other. “How about we skip this one?”

  1. _What is your boyfriend’s eye color?_



“Brown.” Both of them immediately stated, without even needing to look at each other.

  1. _What is one thing about your boyfriend most people don’t know?_



“What is something about me that people don’t know?” Mortimer mused, just as Vincent looked towards the camera with a knowing glance.

“Mortimer has reread his comic books a hundred times. Each.”

“It’s not a hundred, is it?”

“I’m pretty sure you reached a hundred today with all of them!”

“How did you keep count?”

“I secretly kept a tally of how many times I passed by you reading them. Also, you’ve shown them to me multiple times.”

“Oh.” Mortimer blinked. “Well, that’s interesting. Do you keep secret statistics of anything else, then? Is that the unknown fact about yourself that even I didn’t know, until now?”

“Sure.” Vincent managed awkwardly, face flushing a little. “I’ve also kept tallies of how many times Jael and Ryu fight over the bathroom, how many times I’ve seen Fatima dancing, how many times Riley is in the garden, as well as how many times Jetpack Girl and Dylan attempt experiments _and_ something goes wrong, resulting in Janet screaming later about how something either got broken or someone’s hair got randomly dyed.”

Mortimer stared at him, and he looked both confused and impressed, judging by the weirded-out look in his eyes. “ _Why_ do you keep a tally of all of this?”

Vincent offered him a sheepish grin. “I got bored.”

  1. _What are your pet names for each other?_



“I’ve called Vincent ‘Brownie’ before ‘cause of his brown hair.” Mortimer pointed out, chuckling.

“And I’ve heard Riley call you Mort.” Vincent immediately added. Mortimer groaned, shaking his head.

“I think I’d like a better pet name than that one.”

“We’ll figure one out.” Vincent reassured him. “Don’t worry.”

  1. _What is the #1 item on your boyfriend’s bucket list?_



“To stay safe and together no matter what happens.” Vincent managed, staring straight into the camera. Mortimer looked a little concerned, swallowing.

“Eh, well, I mean, that’s not a bad idea…huh.” Mortimer tilted his head, a sigh leaving him as he thought. “I don’t know if I have anything on the bucket list…other than, you know, trying not to make more enemies. We had enough with the Carnival Master, the Collector, Arthur, the Sorceress…”

“Agreed.” Vincent managed. “At least three of them are dead, though.”

“Fair.”

  1. _Does your boyfriend have any quirky habits?_



Mortimer nodded. “Yeah. He stares at lightbulbs sometimes. And I mean for an actual few minutes at a time.”

Vincent scratched the back of his head. “Some of the traits I had back in the 20s are still stuck to me. I’m pretty sure it’s a result of a bunch of things I went through, but I won’t elaborate here. As for Mortimer, he and Dylan are having a prank war right now. Ryu might join that soon.”

“Yeahhh. That’s a thing.” Mortimer scratched the back of his head. “To be fair, Dylan started it.”

“And yet you continued it?” Vincent asked, raising a brow, smiling just slightly.

Mortimer looked towards him sheepishly. “Well…let’s just say it’s hard to stop once you really get into it…”

  1. _What is your boyfriend’s favorite animal?_



“Cats!”

“Dogs!”

Both of them immediately went still, before staring at each other in disbelief.

“Oh, no…”

Cue both of them talking and being blurred out and muted, with a voiceover from Vincent being heard instead. “Vincent here, on editing. We got into a ten minute spat about whether dogs or cats were better, and then we gave up and decided that we should continue the rest of this questionnaire. As of right now, we still haven’t figured out whether one is better than the other.”

  1. _Who squashes the bugs?_



“Both of us, I think.” Vincent managed, looking towards the camera. “We’ve killed an equal amount of bugs.”

“Is that also something you keep a tally of?” Mortimer asked, looking towards him.

Vincent shook his head. “Surprisingly, no. Should I start?”

“You don’t need to.”

“Fair. I have too many other tallies to keep count of, anyway…”

  1. _What is your boyfriend’s favorite color?_



“Green for Mortimer, blue for me.” Vincent answered.

Mortimer nodded. “Green just seems like a peaceful colour. Also, it’s just nice to see it outside a lot here, compared to Everlock.”

“Everlock didn’t have a lot of plantlife.” Vincent noted. “Was it always that way?”

“I think so, yeah. Just stretches of dust and brown everywhere it wasn’t a building.” Mortimer shrugged.

  1. _Who spends more when shopping?_



“Mortimer.” Vincent managed.

Mortimer groaned. “It’s not that bad, is it?”

The former madman raised a brow. “You keep spending extra money on sweet stuff. I see you grabbing the liquorice allsorts when you can.”

“Guilty as charged.” A chuckle left Mortimer at that. “I guess I gotta be more careful with that…but seriously, those allsorts are good stuff.”

  1. _Pass on one piece of relationship advice._



“Talk to each other.” Vincent managed. “Especially if you have specific things that you are very uncomfortable with.”

“That also goes for stuff you’re very comfortable with, too.” Mortimer quickly added, nodding in agreement. “It works both ways, trust me.”

Vincent blushed, looking towards Mortimer. “Is that why you keep giving me flowers every month, ever since I told you I liked the first bouquet you got me?”

“Yeah.” Mortimer beamed right back at him. “See? It works!”

Vincent couldn’t help but chuckle, pushing a few strands of hair out of his own face. “I suppose you’re right.”

Both of them paused, before Vincent checked the list of questions, and then looked up at Mortimer. “So, what now? We finished all the questions. Do we just kiss, or…?”

“I don’t know.” Mortimer admitted. “But a kiss does sound pretty sweet to me.”

“In front of the camera!?”

“Everyone knows we’re a thing already. And only if you want to.”

“Fair.” And with that, Vincent just leaned in and kissed Mortimer, right on the lips.

Mortimer immediately kissed him back, but unfortunately for both of them, Vincent just happened to lean too far forwards, resulting in him losing his balance. Mortimer tried to grab onto him for support by the arms, a yelp leaving him as he pulled back to breathe, but both of them ended up falling off the couch and off camera entirely, a ‘thud’ resounding as they hit the floor.

“Ow!”

“You okay!?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine! You?”

“Could be worse!”

“Love you.”

“Love you, too.”


	8. Of Annoyances And Interrogations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jael hates Mortimer’s guitar playing (sometimes). However, she has an idea as of how to use that skill to her advantage…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I base this little piece of writing off a scene from Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Season 1 Episode 7? Yes. XD I hope you enjoy reading this one!

Jael enjoyed a good amount of music. Despite everyone’s assumptions that she would be down for screamo/rock metal types of music, she enjoyed a good variety of music. Being from the Society Against Evil, it was commonplace for members to share their various favourites from the eras they visited and/or originally came from.

However, she knew this: She absolutely _abhorred_ whatever sounds Mortimer was making on the guitar.

Okay, some of it could be nice. It honestly could be. But there came a time when it was just…no.

“For the love of every era we’ve been to, please stop playing at nine in the morning!”

“Come on! You’re just jealous you can’t pick up a guitar like I can!”

_“Fuck you!”_

Jael and Mortimer’s arguments were a staple of this Victorian Manor due to living together. It was a given. Sometimes it’d get bad enough to the point that two of the others in the house (usually Jetpack Girl and Ryu) had to separate them for a bit. Janet expressed wishes about putting those two in separate corners and giving them time-out, but she also knew she couldn’t do that because 1. Both were grown adults and 2. Neither of them would obey, anyway.

However, Jael knew that she must endure this one time. Taking a deep breath, she barged into Mortimer’s room, just as he was about to start playing again, and looked him in the eye with all seriousness before speaking.

“I need you to use your guitar and annoy one of our prisoners into talking. Apparnetly they hate the guitar.”

Mortimer stared at Jael. “You gotta be kidding me. Seriously?”

“Mhm.” She nodded. “It’s our best chance.”

Mortimer blinked, stared a bit more. “You’re sure? Who is it that I’m annoying, anyway?”

“Arthur.”

He gagged at the mention of the evil former butler, shaking his head. “That guy? He hates guitars?”

“Apparently so.” Jael crossed her arms. “You in?”

Mortimer smiled a bit too widely. Then again, Jael figured Mortimer might have a bone to pick with the man who 1. Imprisoned Vincent in the first place and 2. Tried to kill them all in the Museum of the Dead. “I’m in!”

* * *

“Are you sure this is going to work?” Ryu couldn’t help but ask Jael. They’d brought Mortimer over to the Society Against Evil Headquarters, and Mortimer was taking a few moments to tune his guitar first before heading into said interrogation room. All attempts from Santos to try to learn more about Arthur’s plans failed, so…well, they figured bringing in Mortimer might help.

Jael nodded, looking towards Ryu, and then through the window into the interrogation room where Arthur, the evil former butler of all evil former butlers, sat in his chair, handcuffed. “Yup. I’m pretty sure. That man really hates acoustic guitars.”

Santos was also with Ryu and Jael, looking into the interrogation room, and

“Ahem.” The three turned to see Mortimer decked out in what could be described as the gaudiest rockstar outfit. Dark sunglasses obscured his eyes from view, and he wore a black leather jacket and boots with a rip-off short-sleeved red shirt.

Jael stared at him. “You brought an _outfit_ for this?”

Mortimer took off the sunglasses, looking her in the eyes. “I want to make him suffer. This is my best chance.”

“Well,” Ryu shrugged, “It can’t hurt.”

Santos stared. “And you are…?”

“I’m Mortimer.” Mortimer beamed right at Santos sheepishly. “Vincent’s boyfriend. Nice to meet you.” He then looked towards Jael. “Can I torture Arthur now?”

Santos gave Jael a look. “You said you were annoying him into talking, not torturing him.”

“I _am_ annoying Arthur.” Jael noted. “It’s not like Mortimer’s stabbing him to death. He’s just playing his guitar.”

“I…see…”

“Wish me luck!” Mortimer called, before he ducked into the interrogation room and closed the door behind him.

* * *

Arthur stared up at Mortimer with pure distaste, saying absolutely nothing. Mortimer ignored him, readying himself as he sat on the table itself, looked Arthur in the eye with a serious gaze, and started a count-in.

“Two, three, four…”

The nastiest, sickest chords ever imagined resounded through the room. Mortimer played them for a full eight-count, before screaming at the top of his lungs.

_“AAAAAAA!!!!! AAAAAAAAA!!!”_

* * *

Half an hour later, Mortimer stepped out of the interrogation room, slamming the door shut. “It didn’t work.”

“No?” Jael blinked, looking up at him as she drank a cup of coffee.

Mortimer groaned, shaking his head. “No. He didn’t even flinch!”

She shrugged, giving him a pat on the shoulder. “It was worth a shot. Thanks for trying.”

“You’re welcome.” Mortimer left without another word, clearly disappointed in his lack of results.

Santos watched Mortimer go, before looking towards Jael and Ryu. “And…that’s the man Vincent is dating?”

“Yes.” Ryu supplied. He shrugged. “I know. He’s kind of odd.”

“For some reason,” the other managed, “I’m not surprised.”

“You really should visit sometime.” Jael spoke up, offering the priest a grin. “I think it would be good for you to get out and go somewhere that isn’t a mission, for once.”

Santos couldn’t help but grin back. “I would be happy to. And I’d be also just as happy to get away from,” He glanced towards the interrogation room, then to Jael, “Him.”

“We might be able to make some arrangements on that.” Jael shrugged. At least, she hoped so. If there was one man she thought might be the voice of reason, it might just be Santos.

And honestly? More voices of reason were welcome back in the Victorian Manor right now. She could only hope that Santos sided with her when it came to Mortimer’s guitar playing…


	9. Trying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A break from gardening results in Riley and Alison having a heart-to-heart about the previous deaths they've witnessed and been involved in.

“Is this the mugwort?”

Riley sighed. “No, that’s basil. Can you hand me the trowel, please?”

Alison could only sigh as she offered Riley the small trowel. “Here.”

“Thank you!”

Alison never expected to get roped into studying plants and gardening with Riley, but it happened. At first, it was Riley asking Alison about flower arrangements, and then later asking for her assistance in hanging some pots of flowers. At this point in time, Alison found herself gardening regularly along with Riley. She supposed it was nice, spending time in nature and away from the craziness of virtually everyone else in the house, but still.

Also, it was a nice sight to behold once things were neatened up and well-weeded, especially after the plantlife grew. Riley was happy to see everything grow, and Alison was happy that Riley was happy. She hadn’t realized exactly how much time Riley worked in the garden until she joined her, too. She’d often come in from the garden and realize she was out for a whole morning. Or afternoon. Sometimes both.

One day, in the midst of the gardening, both women had gotten a bit tired and went back inside the manor to get some drinks. Alison poured Riley a glass of water, offering it to her. “Here.”

“Thanks.” Riley beamed back at her, taking the glass from her before half-chugging it down. “I’m really grateful for the help.”

“You’re welcome.” Alison offered her a smile, before taking a sip of her own glass of water. She paused, her gaze looking towards the blossoming flowers outside, as well as the various herbs and plants that were starting to bud. “When did you start making this garden? I don’t remember this place being so vibrant before I died.”

Riley’s smile softened a bit, her gaze trailing down to her cup, and then towards the garden as well. “I started making it after everything that happened with the Sorceress, after I killed her. I just wanted to get rid of anything that reminded me of her.”

Right. Alison remembered too well now. Riley and the Sorceress were the opposite sides of each other. It made sense that Riley wanted to destroy anything Sorceress-related, destroy the dark side. Alison had never really asked Riley about anything regarding the Sorceress before, given that 1. She already knew, from the Museum experience, that the Sorceress was just a horrible person in general and 2. Riley was never fully comfortable talking about it with anyone, save for her therapist at the headquarters.

“I wanted to make things better. And I wanted to honour the people that died.” Riley pointed to the flowers out there. “That’s why I made the flowers. I mean,” A sigh left her, “At least I remember their names, now.”

“And we brought back at least some of them from the dead.” Alison reminded her. After all, they did succeed in saving them from the Museum, despite the deadly consequences of Arthur coming back to life, too, and having to work with him and the Sorceress during that night. “And I’m sure the others are resting in peace.”

“What was it like?”

Alison blinked, looking up at Riley. “What was what like?”

“When you died.” Riley swallowed, glancing up at her. “Did it hurt?”

Alison recalled the cries of werewolves, her own screams as resounding as they tore into her flesh and broke her bones. She shuddered, trying to shake away the memory with her head. “Definitely.”

Riley swallowed. “I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t kill me, Riley. The werewolves did.” A sigh left Alison at that, but Riley shook her head.

“It’s not fair, though. You died for me. Too many people did.” She swallowed, taking a deep breath afterwards. “I know there was no choice, but…it’s not fair what happened to you and them. And it’s not just you, but also Joanne, and Mortimer, and…all the other friends we have.”

“Vincent and Calliope haven’t died yet.” Alison gently pointed out. “Nor Dylan.”

“I hope they don’t die.”

“I hope not, too.” Alison really hoped none of their friends had to die during another mission if they got roped into one again, even if they had to do it to protect the various Youtubers they met. Also, why was it always Youtubers? Why not normal people? That was odd. Alison filed that question away in her mind for later. “But no matter what happens, Riley, you have to remember – those deaths were not your fault. It’s just a consequence of what we get thrown into. And I don’t think the Cursed God messing with things helps, either.”

Riley looked her in the eyes, saying nothing for a moment, but then she pulled Alison into her arms. Alison managed to catch her balance in time to put her own cup of water down, before hugging Riley carefully in return. She felt the younger? (it was hard to tell whether Riley was older than her or not, given Alison’s status as a vampire and Riley being stuck in a glass case for a hundred years) woman melt into her arms, and then she thought she heard Riley sob.

“Thanks…”

Alison could only sigh, patting her on the back, keeping her in a long hug as she looked out towards the garden again. The flowers were blooming, the herbs were growing, and Alison was more than sure that things would come to fruition. She wished Riley would stop blaming herself for all the deaths that happened. She knew it was hard not to.

But, if it was any consolation, at least Riley was keeping herself busy. Trying to make things better. And Alison was more than sure that Riley would in any way she could. That was the best way to move forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, fellow readers! Thank you for reading "Moments In Time" so far. Due to a lack of writing muse for this fic, the current uncertainty over whether a Season 5 of Escape The Night will happen this year, as it may potentially influence the future of this fic and the rest of the series, as well as a need to focus on other writing projects (including several original novels), I've decided to put this fanfic on hiatus for all of June. My hope is that I'll resume updates to this fic in July, but I will add an extra note here and give further updates on my website and Tumblr as needed if that changes. 
> 
> In the meantime, I have plans to post a few oneshots during June (both EtN and non-EtN related), so I hope you look forward to reading those!
> 
> UPDATE as of June 23rd, 2020: I have decided to extend the hiatus until August 2020, especially in the wake of the news that there will be no Escape The Night Season 5 airing this year. Thank you for your understanding and patience!


	10. Hair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Calliope has a hidden talent for styling hair. Mortimer needs some help, and comes to her. Chaos ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Firstly: HELLO, TO EVERYONE READING! 
> 
> It's been a *very* long time since I last updated this fic. I initially wanted to come back to updating this series back in July, but the announcement of no Season 5 of Escape The Night happening this year, on top of me struggling with writing motivation for this specific fic, pushed it back until now. From hereon, I have two announcements. One is about the current updating schedule for this fic, and the other is a surprise!
> 
> 1\. I will be posting updates to this on a bi-weekly basis on Mondays, from now on! Which means the next update won't be coming until two weeks from now, and so on. This is due to me already working on two other fanfics, one that is being updated weekly on Wednesdays, as well as another being updated biweekly on Fridays. Thank you for your patience, and I hope you enjoy the updates to come!
> 
> 2\. I now have an *official Pinterest Board* for the series! I actually started making this board at the time of writing my fanfic "Here We Go Again" for inspiration, but I've decided to share this board with all of you to see. Some sections are organized into pairings, while others focus on individual characters. I hope you enjoy taking a look at it!
> 
> You can check it out here: https://www.pinterest.ca/mysticalauthoress/fate-brings-us-together/

“So you’re telling me that you want to get your hair cut?”

Mortimer nodded. “Yep.”

Calliope sighed, picked up a pair of scissors, and pointed to the private bathroom attached to her bedroom. “Get one of the chairs in here and drag it in there. Make sure your head is over the tub.”

“’kay.” Mortimer did as he was told, silently and quickly.

It wasn’t the first time he got his hair cut by Calliope. Back in Everlock, the hairdresser sucked at their job, but they were the only one that did it. Mortimer couldn’t cut his own hair to save his life, but that was when he stumbled upon Calliope cutting her own hair, one night. He begged her for a haircut, got one, and then just kept coming back for her for the occasional trim or two afterwards.

Even after Everlock, Mortimer still went to Calliope for haircuts. No one else could really do it as well as her, honestly. And why was that? Well:

Jetpack Girl sucked at haircuts. Riley was a little better, but kept using too much hairspray afterwards.

Jael and Ryu didn’t really want to touch Mortimer’s hair because both of them made his head look really bad.

Fatima was just too scared to cut Mortimer’s hair, believing that he’d cut his ear by accident. Vincent and Dylan offered to help, during the few times that Calliope wasn’t available, but they couldn’t do it as well as her.

Mortimer leaned back in his chair , trying to make sure his head was above the bathtub so Calliope could wash it first. He heard the water run, and felt her hands on his head, fingers separating the strands in preparation for cutting it. She made him sit up, carefully, using a spare bedsheet to wrap around his shoulders before starting to comb out the hair and separate it into sections.

“So,” Calliope started, “What do you want this time? The usual snips?”

“I was thinking of bleaching my hair.” Mortimer quipped. “Do you think Vincent might like it?”

A groan left her at that. “You found Jael’s bleach stash, didn’t you?”

“I did.” Cue Mortimer holding up a bottle. “And I’m pretty sure you can use this on my hair, right?”

Calliope put her scissors down, examining the package. “Well, you can use it in this way…it’s meant for it. But are you sure you want to do this?”

Mortimer shrugged. “I’ve seen videos of the guests do it.” One such video was of Rosanna trying to bleach her boyfriend’s hair, back in the era she came from. “It can’t be that hard, right?”

* * *

Mortimer ate his words about thirty minutes later. Staring at himself in the mirror, all he could see was tufts of now-blond hair, bright and white like snow…almost. Not quite. But it was close.

“Oh my _god.”_ Mortimer ran a hand through his now-dry hair, grimacing as he stared himself in the bathroom mirror. “Calliope, what did you do!?”

“I bleached your hair.” Calliope supplied, just as she put away several of the supplies she’d used during the whole operation. “You never specified if you wanted any certain areas you wanted left out, so I did all of your hair. I’m sure it’ll fade after a couple washes or something.”

A groan left him as he looked towards her. “Please tell me you have a secret stash of beanies for bad haircuts somewhere.”

She stared back at him. “Beanies?”

“You know, those sock-like hat things that can cover most of your hair if you wear them right.” Mortimer managed, raising a brow. “Have you never encountered them before?”

“No, I just keep mixing up all the hat-related terminology.” A sigh left her at that, before she shook her head. “Sadly, I do not have an extensive beanie collection. I have one, though. You could borrow it for a little while.”

“I’m gonna take it.” Cue Mortimer barging straight into Calliope’s room. “Thanks!”

“Hey!” Calliope rushed into her room after him. “Let me get it for you, at least! It’s on one of the higher shelves…”

“Why would you even put it up there?” Mortimer looked up to see one lone beanie, perched on a high shelf just as Calliope described. “You don’t use it often?”

“Gets in the way during missions, so no.”

“Maybe I should just claim it as mine now.” He mused, but she shook her head as she grabbed a stepstool so she could reach the beanie. “If you’re not using it, and I need to use it, why not?”

“The last time you borrowed something from me,” She shot back, “You never returned it. And then when I asked you about it, you said a random dog ate it.”

“It did!”

That was when there was a knock on the door, before Janet Wilson, mother of Mortimer Wilson, stepped in.

“Is everything okay?” She started, gazing up at both of them. “I heard…”

That was when she stopped mid-sentence, staring at her son’s head. Mortimer tried to cover his hair with his hands, but the damage was already done.

Janet stared at Calliope, then Mortimer, then Calliope, then Mortimer, then Calliope once more. _“What_ did you do to my son?”

“Caliope ruined my hair.” Mortimer hissed, and Calliope glared back at him.

“You never specified how much bleach you even _wanted_ , either!” Cue her throwing the beanie at Mortimer’s face. Mortimer, much to her ire, actually caught it before it could blind him.

Janet could only sigh and shake her head at the sight of her son’s bleached hair. “Is there any way for you to get the bleach out of his hair?”

“I don’t think it’s as simple as washing it out in a few attempts.” Calliope managed, side-eyeing Mortimer’s hair. “He might be blond for a while.”

“Ughhh.” Mortimer put the beanie on, shaking his head. “Please don’t tell Vincent. I really don’t want him to see me like _this!”_

“You can’t just wear that hat all the time.” Janet managed, frowning. “Sooner or later, he’ll see it.”

“Hopefully I’ll have some of the bleach washed out by then…”

Calliope couldn’t help but smile, amused by this. Mortimer as a blond was jarring, but…she could bear with it.

She supposed she’d find out sooner than later how everyone else felt at some point. Either way, this was a hairstyle she’d remember.


	11. Weird Science

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dylan tries to help Jetpack Girl with an experiment.

“Okay,” Jetpack Girl offered Dylan a pair of gloves, “I need to make you aware that this is dangerous. Do you promise you’ll follow all my instructions?’

Dylan nodded, putting the gloves on. “Yes.”

“Do you promise you’ll run out of the lab if something is about to explode?”

“Mhm.”

“And promise we’re not doing anything that involves ripping organs out of people’s chests or any other places?”

_“What?”_

The former apprentice couldn’t help but grimace. “Yeah…about that. My boss kind-of did that to someone I met, once, so I’d prefer if we never did those kinds of experiments.”

Dylan could only sigh. That was fair, he supposed. No one wanted to relive something that horrifying. It was one thing when your father was turned into a werewolf, but another thing if you saw an innocent person get their organs ripped out of their body.

“So,” He finally managed, “What are we working on today?”

“Fertilizer for Riley’s garden.” Jetpack Girl dumped a whole bag of soil onto the currently-cleared up counter. “She said that if there was any way to make something that would help the vegetables grow faster, that would be great. She also gave me these seeds we can test them out on.” Cue her dump a very small bag onto the counter beside the soil.

Dylan looked between the soil, and then to the small bag of seeds. “That seems like a lot of soil for a few seeds.”

“That’s fair,” Jetpack Girl admitted. “She’s hoping the fertilizer can make the seeds produce multiple vegetables at once. We’re hoping to store some of them throughout the winter when it hits later on in the year. Preserve them. Also, we have about ten people in this house, so that’s a lot of us.”

It was true that the whole house did go through a lot of food, due to the sheer amount of people in it at this point. And if Father Santos _was_ considering moving into this mansion, that would be another person to feed. Not that they didn’t want him hanging around, given that he would probably be the only sane man in the house (save for a few other people) and they sorely needed someone who could keep a level head, but still.

“I guess that makes sense.” Dylan looked around. “So, where do we start?”

“We gotta mix some stuff first. Mind helping me look in the storage room?”

* * *

Thirty minutes full of looking for the right ingredients later, Jetpack Girl and Dylan examined their findings. There were odd potion bottles that Dylan had never seen before. Some were labelled _‘automatic growing potion’_ or _‘death to worms.’_

“So,” Dylan asked, “What happens after we’re done mixing this all together?”

“Hopefully it works out and doesn’t poison us by accident.” Jetpack Girl managed, shrugging.

“Hopefully?” He repeated, brows furrowing. “How many of your experiments were flukes?”

“Most of them.” She admitted, a soft chuckle leaving her. “I’m thinking that once we do try to grow the seeds, we should probably keep them under examination for at least month, in case of any weird mutations.”

“Like the monster plant we saw in that one movie?”

“Yeah, like the human-eating monster plant. We do _not_ want those. And speaking of eating humans,” She turned, raising a brow at him. “Don’t you dare let these plants have anything but water and the fertilizer, no matter how many times they say _‘feed me, feed me!’”_

He frowned. “If they actually start saying that, shouldn’t we just kill them before they can kill us?”

She gave him a pat on the shoulder. “We’ll cross that bridge if we need to. Let’s not think about it too hard.”

Dylan could only hope and pray that nothing went horribly wrong.

* * *

Surprisingly, nothing went horribly wrong. At least, not yet. The fertilizer was made after mixing some chemicals and soil together, and then they planted the seeds in little pots filled with the new fertilizer and soil, watering them with fresh water.

Nothing instantly happened. Jetpack Girl reassured Dylan that it might take some time to see results.

As Dylan walked into the lab one week later, however, he found himself seeing three blooming plants.

And one of them was whispering, “Feed me, feed me…”

Cue Dylan grabbing the nearest flamethrower he could find, and…

* * *

“What did you do!?” Jetpack Girl called to Dylan, as she sprayed the now-on-fire plants with an extinguisher.

“They were asking me to feed them!” Dylan yelled back. He’d backed up against the opposite wall as he watched the dead plants. “They grew super-huge all of a sudden, and they were whispering, and…”

“And you set them on fire.” Jetpack Girl ended, turning to face him after she put the extinguisher aside on the closest counter.

He nodded. “Yeah.”

“Well,” She scratched the side of her head a little, “I suppose safety comes first, so you killing the plants might be good. But next time, ask the plants what they want to eat. They might’ve just wanted more fertilizer.”

He shuddered, shaking his head. “I don’t think they would want that…” _And I don’t think I’d want to eat them if they’re talking, either…_


	12. Observations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Santos finally visits the Victorian Mansion and everyone in it, and learns a few things over the next few days...

“Okay, we have bad news and good news.”

Jetpack Girl stared up at Calliope, who made everyone gather in the parlor for a very important talk. “What’s the good news?” She asked.

“The good news is that Santos, who was in the same era as Vincent, will be coming to stay for a few days.” Calliope managed.

“Really?” Vincent’s eyes widened at that, his gaze snapping towards her. “The Society Against Evil approved of it?”

“The visit. Not a permanent stay, yet, but we figured having him over for the next few days would be fine. This era is virtually a neutral zone, so we’re all safe from the Evil, here.” She answered. A sigh escaped her, before she added, “The bad news is, Jael, Ryu and I are going to be gone for the next few days because of some Society-Against-Evil related work, so all of you are going to have to manage on your own.”

Mortimer looked between himself, Dylan, Fatima, Alison, Riley, Jetpack Girl, Vincent and his mom. “There are literally eight of us. I’m pretty sure we can handle things while you’re gone.”

“Not so sure about that.” Ryu sighed, shaking his head. “The last time we left for a few days, we found that the bathtub fell through the ceiling of the room below it.”

“I’m just glad there was no one in the floor below.” Riley sighed, shaking her head.

“And I’m glad I didn’t step into that tub.” Janet muttered, offering Riley a reassuring gaze.

“Okay, so accidents can happen.” Mortimer conceded. “But as long as no one is growing any weird things, or trying anything that has explosions involved, I think we’ll be fine.”

Dylan shuddered, burying his head in his hands as he tried to forget the monster plants he and Jetpack Girl accidentally grew and then he set on fire to destroy. “I can still hear their voices…”

Alison gave Dylan a pat on the shoulder. “It’ll be fine.” She managed. “Just don’t do anymore plant experiments.”

“I’m never doing them again.”

Ryu, Jael and Calliope all surveyed the eight people in front of them, before Jael shrugged.

“As long as none of them kill each other, I don’t think it’ll be a bad idea for Santos to stick around here. At the very least, he does know Vincent well and he’s met Mortimer once.”

Calliope gave Jael a look. “The poor priest is going to be the only sane man. Bless his soul.”

Ryu couldn’t help but laugh. “I think he’ll definitely be blessed with company, that’s for sure…”

* * *

Santos was honestly relieved to have some time away from the Society Against Evil’s headquarters for reasons that didn’t involve a life-and-death situation. It was one thing to accompany people on exorcism-related tasks, but it was another to just get away from everything at the organization’s headquarters and so on. Apparently Calliope, Jael and Ryu couldn’t stay to help him get adjusted, as they were needed on a sudden mission, but Santos reassured them that he’d be fine. He would just take the time to get to know the others.

If all went well, maybe he might consider staying here.

He thought of his last talk with Arthur, and he shuddered, shaking his head. That man was surely influenced by something dark. Perhaps the ‘Cursed God’ that he heard whispers of. Santos knew that such demons could have horrible influences on people. He knew that too well from experience. And the house he entered once had that influence, too, as far as he knew.

However, as he approached the main doors leading into the house, he took a deep breath, before knocking on them. There were people he knew of in there. People that were kind, good, and far from demonic. This was a safe place, he reminded himself. It would be fine.

The door opened, and Calliope was quick to let him in. Santos recognized Vincent among the small crowd of people that were gathered just inside the house, standing at the entrance.

“Father Santos.”

“Vincent.” Santos smiled, just as he saw the former madman smile. “It’s good to see you, again. I’m grateful for letting me stay here for the next few days.”

“I’m glad you’re here.” Vincent paused, turning his head towards the others. “You know me, but…do you want to introduce yourselves to him, everyone?”

“So you’re the priest guy!” The short-haired blonde jumped a bit on her heeled boots, clearly excited. “I’m Joanne. But you can call me Jetpack Girl, ‘cause,” She gestured to her back, where there was some sort of odd contraption strapped to her. “’cause of this.”

“I’m Riley.” The longer-haired blonde offered him a nervous grin. There was something borderline angelic about her appearance, reminding Santos of the murals of angels that he’d seen in various artworks. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“I’m Dylan.” The dark-haired boy was the youngest. Santos could see in his eyes that there was innocence lost from them, perhaps jaded from whatever events he might’ve went through.

“Alison.” Alison offered him a nod. Her dark outfit and wide eyes seemed to lack a life to them, though Santos did remember hearing from Calliope that one of the residents was a vampire. Alison must be the one, he guessed.

“Fatima.” The dark-haired woman, dressed in layers of colourful scarves and other clothes, waved a little bit at Santos. He’d never seen that kind of get-up in his life, and he guessed that she must be from an entirely different era.

“Janet Wilson.” Janet offered him a smile showing off her somehow-immaculate white teeth. “I’m also Mortimer’s mom. I heard you both met before?”

“Wait,” Vincent looked towards Mortimer, who wasn’t in odd-rocker getup but rather in an orange jacket, plaid pants and a white shirt underneath, “You have?”

“Yeah.” Mortimer scratched the back of his head. “Forgot to tell you earlier, but I did meet Santos briefly when I interrogated Arthur.”

“You interrogate _Arthur?”_ Janet’s jaw dropped. “Since when!?”

Mortimer shrugged. “It wasn’t really interrogating, but it was a couple weeks ago. I just tried to annoy him into talking by screaming in his ear and playing a guitar really badly.”

Santos visibly grimaced at the memory, vaguely remembering plugging his ears during the last ten minutes of Mortimer’s playing and screaming. “I do recall witnessing that. I…I’d like to assume that isn’t how you _actually_ play?”

“It’s not.” Mortimer reassured him. “I’m usually a lot better than that.”

Santos couldn’t help but heave a relieved breath. _Thank goodness._ “Well, I am glad to meet all of you and get to know you, during these next few days.”

“If you have any dietary concerns or something, ask Riley.” Jetpack Girl spoke up, pointing briefly to Riley. “Do priests have specific diets?”

“I believe it depends on the person.” Santos managed sheepishly. “I appreciate your concern, but I’m not picky when it comes to food, and I have no allergies.”

He had a feeling that things were about to get very, very interesting.

* * *

No one minded Santos needing to do any of his duties as a priest that involved prayers and so on, and they caught on quickly that they probably shouldn’t disturb him mid-prayer, which was fine on his part. That worked out.

However, no one else really had any similar rituals or habits, which was also fine. Santos figured it made sense. After all, when one was stuck in a glass case for a hundred years, cursed to be in a carnival town full of stab-happy clowns, getting chased by werewolves, actually killed briefly by werewolves, tied up in a straitjacket with hallucinations and so on, it could be hard for one’s faiths to be steady, or have any time to establish any religious aspect to their lives, let alone stay well-minded.

* * *

The next thing he learned was that everyone had their own specific spaces in the house. Of course, everyone had their own bedrooms, and there were enough spare bedrooms that Santos could just choose any one of them and use that as his guest room, but they also had designated spaces one could find them in. Jetpack Girl had her lab in the basement area of the mansion. Fatima practiced dancing in the ballroom. Dylan would be out hunting in the outskirts of the woods, and Riley was either in the garden/courtyard area or regularly cooking in the kitchen, if no one else was cooking meals or anything else at the time. Alison would stick around the library. Janet and Vincent often just wandered the mansion. It always seemed like there was a new surprise to be found everyday; a hidden room, a few old objects, potentially-magic artifacts, and so on.

Santos had asked Janet where Calliope, Jael and Ryu would be cue. He hadn’t expected Janet to answer that the three used the ballroom as extra training grounds for sharpening their combat skills, but apparently that was something they did.

Santos did eventually find a space for himself; a more-isolated area of the courtyard, a near-abandoned gazebo of sorts. But the flowers around the area were pleasant, the birds were singing, and he found it to be a nice place to just pray or contemplate on things.

* * *

The third thing he learned was that everyone had no idea how old they were.

That worried him, mainly because that meant no one had any clue when their birthday was or when they would die. That just seemed mildly sad, and so he did his best to figure it out himself.

Dylan was obviously the youngest of the bunch, and Santos, along with the others, guessed that the boy wasn’t quite yet eighteen or nineteen, but definitely older than fourteen. So, somewhere between there.

Vincent couldn’t remember how old he was, but Santos assumed the man was in his late twenties or potentially early thirties. Mortimer had to be in his twenties, and Janet was about her late thirties, soon to be forties (as Santos found out that Janet had Mortimer while she was pretty young and not quite Mayor yet, at the time).

Jetpack Girl had no clue how old she was. The priest figured it was safe to say she was in her twenties, maybe close to thirty. And Riley was technically, probably, the oldest, taking her hundred-year imprisonment into account.

“But seriously,” Jetpack Girl piped up, gesturing to the paper where Santos wrote down everyone’s approximate age ranges, “How old are Calliope, Jael and Ryu?”

“That, I have no idea.” Santos shook his head. “I don’t know when they started working for the Society Against Evil, nor do I have any idea when their birthdays are. I never asked before they left on their mission.”

“I bet they’re a thousand years old.” Dylan suddenly stated, and Mortimer raised a brow.

“A thousand? Wouldn’t that make them ancient, though? And none of them have greying hair or beards…”

“I don’t think Jael or Calliope can grow beards.” Janet frowned, shaking her head. “I just assumed they were around thirty years old or something. But then we also have to take the eras everyone came from into account, right? All of us came from different points of time, and we’re all now living in the Victorian Era.”

“That does make it difficult.” Alison agreed.

“Speaking of age…’ Mortimer looked up at Alison. “How old are you, anyway? You’re a vampire, right? Don’t vampires live for thousands of years?”

Alison half-glared at him. “I’m only about a hundred years old, give or take a couple decades. I’m not _that_ old.”

Santos eventually gave up on figuring out everyone’s ages. That was just too hard to completely determine as is.

* * *

A few days in, and Calliope, Jael and Ryu hadn’t come back yet. Riley reassured Santos that sometimes the three could be late, but Santos wasn’t so sure. As he lay in bed that night, praying that the three would be safe, he wondered if things would end well for them.

Would things end well for any of them? Sure, he might be safe living in the Victorian Era, but any part of time could be in danger, because of the Cursed God…and because of what Arthur had planned. He grimaced, shaking his head, turning to lie on his side, and hoped that the three Society Against Evil members would return soon.

If not, he might just blame himself for it.


	13. Test of Faith

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What exactly happened when Santos had to talk to Arthur, after Vincent first visited him?

“Hello, Father Santos. Long time no see.”

Santos quietly prayed in his heart for guidance, as he stared down the other man.

“Hello…Arthur.”

Arthur looked rather smug as Santos closed the door behind him, taking a deep breath. The interrogation cell was small, and despite Arthur’s hands being chained to the table between them, the priest felt uneasy. It was one thing to previously attend to actual prisoners in an actual, normal jail.

But this was different. This was Arthur; the man who imprisoned him in collaboration with the evil of the house. A man that should have died and probably end up going to hell, only to end up alive again after barely making it out of the portal from the Museum of the Dead in time.

“What’s the matter? Won’t you sit?” Arthur asked, his smile sharp. “You and I know well that neither of us can harm each other in here.”

“I highly doubt it.” Santos did sit down opposite Arthur, regardless. “What is it that you want?”

“When I found out you were among the Society Against Evil, I couldn’t help but find it _hilarious.”_ A chuckle escaped the former butler. “You, who lost your faith against demons, are now battling even _more_ demons. I know you’re working for the Society. I’ve heard word from the other guards’ whispers.”

“Just because I lost my faith once, due to failing to take them out, does not mean I’ll lose it again.” Santos frowned. He kept his voice calm, level. He could not allow this man to get the better of him. “What do you intend to do with the young man in Pandora’s box?”

He was, of course, referring to one Joey Graceffa. He knew that Joey, one of the Youtubers that initially freed him and the other owners of the house in the 1920s, was now stuck in Pandora’s Box. He knew that Arthur wanted it, for a reason. But what?

“The longer Joey stays in that box, the more corrupted by the evil he’ll be.” Arthur murmured, looking down at his own fingernails with a shrug. “Are you not worried about releasing him sooner than later?”

“I don’t have the authority to just take him out of Pandora’s Box. The worst of all the worlds’ evils are in it.” Santos pointed out. “Besides, even if we could take him out safely, opening that box is a risk itself. It’s corrupted people that opened it.”

“Like Jael’s precious little sister?”

Santos decided not to comment. Arthur smiled.

“You could always keep Joey in the box. The world might be better off it that thing isn’t opened too many times. But what do _I_ know what it does to the beings within it…?”

“Do you know anything?” Santos raised a brow, looking Arthur in the eye. “You’ve been dead a long time. You worked with the Collector. You must know something about the box, don’t you?”

“And what if I did?”

Santos faltered again. He knew what Arthur wanted; some sort of freedom. A way to use the box as he desired. “Perhaps, if you cooperate with the rest of the Society, things might turn out better for you.”

“Perhaps so. Jael and the others found a way into the Museum of the Dead, correct? They can find their way back again.”

“We don’t have the artifacts anymore. The Crown of Oblivion is broken.”

“Then make a new one. Or find something else to power it. If you have powerful-enough magic artifacts, then you can always make a new way in. It doesn’t matter what you use.” Arthur smirked, maintaining eye contact. “They could always use you, too. You, with your apparently-now-unwavering faith.”

Santos swallowed, and the other man laughed low and deep, shaking his head. “You might want o be careful, putting so much of your faith in others, especially higher beings. Trust me.”

The door opened from behind Santos, and Santos turned to see Jael frowning. “That’s enough out of you, Arthur. Visiting time is over. Santos, come with me.”

“Er…yes.” Santos got up from his chair, and he heard Arthur speak up one last time.

“Think on it, Santos. Do you really want to be stuck relying on anyone in the end? How long do you plan to keep fighting the evil?”

* * *

“We have to go to the Museum of the Dead again. There might be clues on what the box could do…as well as how to get Joey safely out of it.” Calliope managed. She, Jael, and Ryu were tasked with figuring out what to do with what Santos barely gathered from Arthur.

Santos frowned, shaking his head. “I have a bad feeling about this, Calliope. What if it’s a trap?”

“I’ve been in there before.” Calliope managed, frowning as she looked towards him. “And we know how to get in and out. The question is, what do we use as another power source since we don’t have the Crown of Oblivion, anymore?”

“We can borrow the cursed artifacts and the crystal from the Carnival Master again.” Ryu pointed out. “As for a third power source…I think I have some ideas as of what to use.”

Santos took a deep breath, hearing Arthur’s laughter in his mind, before he blurted out, “Since you three might be gone for a while, I was wondering…perhaps I can come over and stay? At the mansion where Vincent and the others are? I could keep them company.”

“Really?” Calliope raised a brow. She paused, looking him up and down, before nodding. “You do look like you need a break away from everything going on right now. Especially with confronting Arthur…I can’t imagine it was easy.”

Santos shook his head in admittance. “It’s not.”

“Then it’s settled.” Jael finished. “The three of us head to the Museum of the Dead. Santos can come stay with our friends at the Victorian Mansion. It should only take a few days.”

Ryu looked towards Santos, offering him a reassuring gaze. “We’ll be fine. We’ve done this for a very long time. I’m sure it’ll be dangerous, but we’ll make it through. We always do.”

“I don’t think I can stop you.” Santos couldn’t help but sigh. He knew there was only so much he could do in the Society Against Evil to help them against, well, any evil, but he also couldn’t stop the gut feeling that something might go horribly wrong during the trio’s trek to the Museum of the Dead.

All he could do was pray and hope that they would stay safe.


	14. Sleepless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Santos can't sleep. Alison notices.

Santos twisted and turned in bed, before sitting up, shaking his head. He’d prayed for a good night’s sleep, hoping to ignore the demons haunting the back of his mind, but he found little answers or any sleep at all. A sigh left him as he blinked several times, his sight adjusting to the darkness of the room. The curtains of his window were mostly drawn, a with just a bit of moonlight streaming into the room from outside.

He ought to shut the curtains entirely, he noted to himself, moving to get out of bed to do so. Maybe try to clear his head with a prayer or two. Perhaps it would help quell the inner demons.

It was not the first sleepless night he had at the mansion. He first chalked it up to him being new here, and trying to get used to things, but it was over a week or so at this point. Did he just have too many worries on his mind? Or was there more?

A sudden ‘thud’ made him jump, and he looked around. As his gaze peered towards the window, where moonlight streamed in, he saw a shadow of a figure suddenly whizz past the glass, and a few more footsteps followed.

Who was on the roof at this hour? _Why?_

Santos had to find out. Sure, it might be dangerous, peering too far out the window, especially at night, but he’d seen and encountered worse things. Steeling himself and saying a quick prayer under his breath, he got up, grabbed a nightrobe from the wardrobe to wrap himself in for warmth, before opening the window.

His room of the mansion had a fairly small balcony just outside the window, so it wasn’t like he had to lean out of the window to look around. Instead, he could just step just outside the window on a fairly smooth surface and take a quick peek. That was what he did, and making sure to stay balanced. The cool night air greeted him, and shuddered, wrapping his robe tightly around himself.

“Santos?”

He whirled around to see none other than Alison, perched on the roofing just above his window. She blinked several times, staring at him with those wide eyes of hers. “You’re up. Why?”

“Miss Alison. Evening.” He greeted, before confessing, “I couldn’t sleep.”

“I see.” Alison tilted her head a bit, still peering at him. “I thought you were awake. I could sense you moving around in you room.”

“It’s two o’clock in the morning.” Santos noted, looking up at her. “Why _are_ you up here and awake?”

Alison shrugged. “Vampire. Can’t sleep.”

“Ah. That’s a fair point.” He sometimes forgot that Alison was the lone non-human in the house. “Well, I suppose I should let you do what you need to do. Apologies, for the disturbance.”

“Sorry if I disturbed you.” She paused, then asked, “Do you want to talk?”

He frowned. “On the roof?”

“I could come into your room. Less chilly in there, I bet.” She shrugged. “Or, join me on the roof. It’s your choice.”

Santos took a moment to think about it. Being outside in the cold would keep him awake, but then again, being on the roof might be a bit…dangerous. Even if Alison would be fine, given her experience, he doubted he would be.

He did his best to open the window a bit wider. “You can come in here.”

Alison and Santos made their way back into his room, and Santos decided to close the windows for to keep the cold air out. Regardless of the temperature, no one was sleeping tonight. At least, not right now.

“So,” Santos, looked towards her, gesturing for her to sit down in the closest chair before he moved to find a lamp to light, “Do you do this often?”

“Hang out on the roof? Not always.” Alison shrugged, sitting down. “Sometimes I spend my time in the library like usual, or the courtyard.”

“But you always wander at night, otherwise?”

“Yes.” Alison shrugged. “Usually there’s no one else to talk to like this. Besides, it’s convenient in case someone wakes up screaming in the middle of the night.”

Santos grimaced at that. He hadn’t woken up to too many incidents like that, though there was a time that Vincent woke up screaming a few nights ago, and another time when he overheard, at breakfast, that Riley had a nightmare and could barely sleep afterwards. “I suppose you have a point.” That certainly explained the times when he peeked out of his bedroom door to see Alison knock on the doors of those that screamed that nightmares, asking if they were okay before going in to check on them. “I am glad to see you looking out for your friends.”

“Thanks.” She paused, pushing a few loose strands of hair out of her face. She paused, looking up at him. She didn’t say anything, just surveying him, and he wasn’t sure how to react to this. It must be odd, he figured, a priest and a vampire casually conversing in the middle of the night. Never did he think he’d end up in this situation, but here they were.

“I was wondering,” Alison finally started, after a moment, “About you being here…Calliope, Jael and Ryu told all of us, before you arrived, that it was just for a visit. But is that all there is to it?”

Santos frowned lightly. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know the Society Against Evil as is too well.” The vampire admitted, frowning lightly. “I know Calliope, Jael and Ryu mean well, but they have a tendency to keep a lot of secrets. I don’t know if this infringes on your priestly vows, or anything like that if I ask you, but do you have any idea why they might be gone so long, on their mission?”

Santos debated telling the truth to Alison. He _did_ know where they were, after all, but what would the repercussions be? Sure, none of the three had told him to keep it all a secret, nor had they told him during confession, or else he definitely couldn’t say anything about it.

Then again, the truth could set one free. And maybe it might not help him be free of the guilt he felt, knowing where those three were and _why_ they were there, but it was something worth telling. Lying about it or claiming to not be allowed to tell Alison wouldn’t be fair to her.

“I do know.” Santos finally admitted. He swallowed, before looking her in the eye. “Calliope, Jael and Ryu are in the Museum of the Dead. Again.”

“What?” The vampire’s eyes widened. If she could, she probably would’ve stepped back, if she wasn’t sitting in a chair already. “Why? They know how dangerous it is. I know how dangerous it is. We barely survived getting out of there the last time, and…” She shook her head, burying her face in her hand and massaging her temple, “Why didn’t they just tell us? I could have come along. How can they even get back in?”

“I don’t know about how they got in.” Santos took a deep breath, trying to keep calm. He knew at this point that Alison was one of those previously trapped in that museum. No wonder she was so worried. “They mentioned something about finding alternative power sources to the Crown of Oblivion, but that’s all I know about that. As for why they went there…it’s my fault.”

“Your fault?” She frowned, looking up at him. She wasn’t angry, but rather confused. “Why do you blame yourself?”

“Shortly after Vincent visited me, I was asked to interrogate Arthur on behalf of the Society.” Santos shook his head at the memory. “I’m sure you’ve met him before, given that he also is from the Museum of the Dead. He was the one that also trapped me and Vincent in the mansion.”

“I do remember Vincent being pretty pissed when they met again, back there.” Alison sighed. “So, you interrogated Arthur…what did he say?”

“He implied that there might be something in the Museum of the Dead that could help Joey Graceffa get out of Pandora’s Box. I don’t know what it is. So, the three are going back there to find that item.”

“Is that why they’re gone so long?”

“I believe so.” Santos’ gaze sank to the floor, but he forced himself to look up at her again. “I’m sorry. At this point, all I can do is pray and hope that they return safely. I don’t know how soon they will return.”

She shook her head. “It’s not your fault. They chose to go down there.”

“But they did it based on the information I gleaned for them.”

“And they requested you to interrogate Arthur in the first place.” Alison pointed out. She sighed, leaning back in her chair, before looking up at him again. “Whatever happens from this…should we tell the others? They deserve to know.”

“That’s true. But I’m more concerned they’ll just run off after those three and also get in danger.” Santos managed. “Calliope told me that most of you tend to be…very action-oriented.”

“Yeah.” Alison could still remember all the times that she and the others fought the various monsters and other beings in the Museum. “You have a point there. To be fair, most of us have died once already, and we’d rather prevent that from happening to anyone else.”

Santos knew he couldn’t argue with that. _They do say that the greatest thing is to give one’s own life up for a friend…_ “That’s also fair.” He supposed he might do the same, in their situation. He looked up at the clock, grimacing as he soon realized it was getting closer to three in the morning. “As much as I want to talk about this…I think it’s best if we tell them after breakfast. And after I get some rest.”

“Finally tired?” Alison asked, tilting her head.

He could sense the drowsiness settling in, and he nodded. “Yes. But…thank you. For speaking with me. I do appreciate it a lot, Alison.”

“It’s no problem.” She paused, heading towards the window. “I’ll be outside.”

“That’s fine.” He offered her a soft smile. She smiled back, before heading out the window, closing it behind her before climbing onto the roof. He sighed, turning off the lamp before heading back to his bed, laying down as he heard her footsteps from above.

He _did_ feel like a weight was lifted off his shoulders after talking with her. Just a bit.

But how would the others react to all of this?

At least he’d have enough rest to tell them, when the time came for it. He fell asleep only minutes after Alison left.


	15. Of Deaths And Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A discussion on previous deaths dominates breakfast time, and Santos finally reveals all that he knows about Calliope, Jael and Ryu's mission.

“So, uh, how many of us have died, and how many times?”

It was only morning, with everyone gathered around the breakfast table. A soft groan left Dylan as he reached for the platter of breakfast sausages. “Why are we bringing this up?”

“Why not?” Jetpack Girl shrugged, taking a bite out of her toast.

“Santos and I had a discussion about death last night.” Alison noted, sipping her tea.

Janet stared at her. “Why.”

“I could not sleep.” Santos admitted, as he also sipped some tea, examining everyone at the table. Riley looked half-asleep, despite drinking all the tea, Mortimer and Dylan were mildly fighting over the last sausage, Jetpack Girl was still eating toast, and Vincent and Fatima were still finishing up the breakfast sausages and eggs on their plates. “Alison mentioned to me that most of you have…died, once, already?”

“Er….” Jetpack Girl swallowed her toast, putting down her half-eaten slice on her plate before nodding. “Yeah. Most of us have. I was stuck in the ‘Maiden of Madness.’ Iron Maiden. Wasn’t fun.”

Santos didn’t know what an iron maiden was, but he had a feeling he probably shouldn’t know. “When? How are you alive?”

“Everlock. I got resurrected by the Lazarus Harp.” She leaned back in her chair, before picking up her piece of toast again to eat. “Thankfully, I was only dead for an hour. Compared to Ryu and Jael, that’s not too bad.”

“Ryu and Jael died before?” Santos raised a brow. That, he didn’t know. “How long?”

“Carnival Master killed them.” Mortimer managed, grimacing. “They were dead for forty years. Calliope had arrived in Everlock with them, too. And now that I think about it,” Mortimer looked down at himself, “I died, too. Not in Everlock, though, but in the Museum of the Dead. Turned to stone.”

“Like a Gorgon?” Santos asked. Vincent winced, and Santos immediately felt bad about bringing it up. Mortimer just nodded.

“I got revived after about an hour, though. I was pretty lucky. A genie brought me back from the dead.”

Fatima nodded in confirmation about the genie. “I remember that. That was the first time I met you.”

“I’m just glad I didn’t die again.” A sheepish laugh left Mortimer at that. “That pirate lady could’ve killed me if Vincent didn’t step in!”

Santos scanned the rest of the table. “Who else died before?”

Alison and Janet raised their hands. Fatima, Riley and Dylan did not, though Santos noted their mild discomfort. Perhaps talking about how they all died before was not a great breakfast discussion, but Santos figured he might as well know for future reference, just in case.

“Thrown off a balcony to my death.” Janet explained. “Killer clowns in Everlock.” She shuddered. “Can’t remember if I felt anything when I blacked out, but….maybe that’s fort he best.”

Alison’s nose wrinkled. “I was torn apart by werewolves. But that’s nothing compared to the other deaths I witnessed that night before, though.”

Someone cleared their throat, and Santos turned to see that it was none other than Riley. “No offense, but…may we continue this after we’re done eating? Please?”

Santos just looked towards everyone, who gave their various nods of agreement, before he also nodded. “That can be arranged.”

* * *

Only thirty minutes later, after finishing breakfast and cleaning up, everyone congregated in the main parlor. Mortimer decided to go all out and list the various deaths everyone went through so far, pairing them with cartoon drawings. Jetpack Girl trying to shove herself into an iron maiden looked much funnier than it was.

Janet couldn’t help but stare at the drawings. “Seeing them drawn out like this makes this feel a lot funnier than they actually were.”

Mortimer could only chuckle. “Gallows humor exists for a reason, Mom.”

As everyone else examined the chart, Alison leaned in towards Santos, to whisper. “Are you going to tell everyone, or should I?”

“About what?” The priest asked back.

“About what we talked about last night. Telling everyone.” Alison stressed, raising a brow.

“Hm?” Fatima turned to face them. “Tell us about what?”

It was only then that Santos realized that everyone else’s gazes turned towards him and Alison. The priest took a deep breath, scanning their curious or confused expressions, before speaking.

“I know where Calliope, Jael and Ryu went. They went to the Museum of the Dead.’

“What!?” Jetpack Girl’s jaw dropped. “By themselves!? How?”

“They found another power source to replace the Crown, or so I assume.” Santos swallowed. “I was asked to interrogate Arthur for them, to find out if there was any way we could free Joey from Pandora’s Box. Arthur mentioned that there might be something in the Museum of the Dead, so that’s where they went.”

“That would explain why they’re not back so soon.” Janet frowned, shaking her head. Vincent visibly grimaced, and Dylan’s brows furrowed as he spoke up.

“Are they going to be okay?”

“I don’t know.” Santos managed. That was all he could really answer. “But I hope that they will be safe.”

“What do we do?” Mortimer asked, tilting his head to the side. “I’m guessing we can’t just run after them, right?”

Alison sighed. “They’re in an entirely different realm, Mortimer. I don’t think we can.”

“Is that why they asked you to come here?” It was Vincent that spoke up, swallowing. Mortimer clutched Vincent’s hand. “To keep us…occupied, while they were gone?”

The priest couldn’t help but frown. “I’m afraid that’s the case. I’m sorry I didn’t tell all of you earlier, but…Calliope and the others told me to keep it a secret. But under my conscience, I couldn’t keep it a secret much longer. Especially while knowing that they went down there because of me and what I uncovered for them.”

“Don’t blame yourself.” Jetpack Girl sighed, pushing a few strands of loose hair out of her face. “It’s not the first time they’ve kept secrets from us. Remember when Calliope kept the fact that she knew about how the whole voting system and stuff worked because she was part of the SAE from us?”

“I remember.” Riley visibly cringed. “It wasn’t a good moment.”

“Either way,” Santos finished, “The only thing we can do is wait. Hopefully, they’ll be back soon.”

Little did they realize that their friends would return, sooner than they hoped.


	16. The Fallout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryu and Jael return, and they have something to say. The others don't take it well.

“How are we supposed to explain this to everyone?”

“I don’t know.” Ryu sighed, shaking his head. “I really don’t know.”

Jael hissed as she rewrapped her arm with the now-soiled bandages. “I don’t think anyone will take Calliope’s absence well. We should expect the worst.”

“Santos is going to take it badly.” Ryu managed, raising a brow. “He’s already blaming himself for whatever harm we’re getting into.”

“Which means he’ll blame himself a lot.”

“Exactly.”

The trip to the Museum of the Dead hadn’t gone as well as they hoped. Not only were the monsters that lingered in the Museum pissed enough to straight-up attack them, but there were darker things there, too. The Collector was still a stone statue right now, but she was the least of their worries during their time in there.

Searching for any clue for how to safely open Pandora’s box turned up fruitless. There was nothing. At least, not as far as they saw. And then…

Jael shuddered, closing her eyes. “The others really aren’t going to take this well. I can imagine Joanne getting pissed already.”

“Maybe they’ll understand if they let us explain.” Ryu managed, putting a hand on her shoulder and squeezing it lightly, offering her a reassuring glance. “Let’s just try to break it to them gently.”

As the two opened the door to the Victorian mansion, they were greeted by none other than Riley, who smiled at first.

“Ryu! Jael! You’re…” She stopped mid-sentence, getting an eyeful of their bandaged forms, before her joy contorted into horror. “Wh-what happened?” She tried to look past them, swallowing. “Where’s Calliope? Where is she?”

“Riley…” Jael started, but that was when Alison quickly walked into the main foyer, spotting them.

“Riley? Jael? Ryu?” Alison rushed over next, also noticing Jael and Ryu’s bandaged arms and, in Ryu’s case, his neck. “What happened? Are you both okay?”

“Please, calm down.” Jael swallowed, looking towards both women. “Just…get us to the parlor, okay? We have a lot to talk about. Get everyone else there, too.”

* * *

Ryu and Jael waited in the main parlor for everyone else to gather. It didn’t take long; once word spread throughout the mansion about Ryu and Jael’s return, everyone immediately made their way there. Santos was the first to arrive, clutching a rosary tightly in his hands, but before he could say anything, Janet and Dylan came over. Fatima was next, followed by Vincent and Mortimer, and then Riley and Alison also came back with Jetpack Girl.

“Ohmygod.” Janet was the first one to finally manage something. Her eyes gazed at Ryu’s injuries, then Jael. “Are you both…? What happened back there?”

“Where’s Calliope?” Mortimer started. “Is she…?”

“She’s not dead.” Ryu quickly spoke up, looking towards Mortimer. “She’s back in the headquarters. Due to her injuries, she’s been placed in a temporary coma until her body recovers a bit more.”

“A coma.” Vincent’s gaze travelled down to the floor, and Mortimer squeezed his arm in reassurance.

“H-how?” That was all Fatima could stutter out, wrapping her arms around herself tightly. “How did...?”

“We were hoping to find what we could in the Museum of the Dead.” Jael breathed. “So, we went back. We used the Lazarus Harp to try to get in, to replace the Crown of Oblivion.”

“We already know.” Jetpack’s voice hardened as her gaze snapped towards Jael. “Santos told us you went there.”

Ryu’s gaze shot towards Santos. “You told them?”

Santos swallowed, guiltily nodding. “It weighed heavily on my conscience to not tell anyone else. And it wasn’t like I couldn’t, since it wasn’t like a confessional. I’m sorry.”

“Well, you have a point there…” Ryu muttered, just as Dylan looked towards Jael. It was clear that the youngest of the group struggled with this, his brows furrowing, but he seemed more upset in general than angry.

“Why didn’t you tell any of us where you were going, before you left?”

“We didn’t want to worry you.” Jael managed, frowning. “Calliope, Ryu and I have all been in life-and-death situations before.”

“Excuse me?” Janet almost laughed at that, shaking her head. _“All_ of us have been in life-and-death situations before! Some of us have even _died!”_

“Janet –” Ryu started, but Janet just glared at him. Her hands balled into fists by her side, but that was when Jael spoke up, looking her in the eye and trying to keep her voice calm.

“I understand that all of us had our individual situations, Janet. But telling you the truth would’ve been painful. All of you would try stopping us from going if we told you.”

“We could’ve gone with you.” Jetpack Girl noted, raising a brow. “Like last time we went to the Museum.”

“Mortimer died last time.” Jael pointed out, and Mortimer flinched at the remark.

Janet Wilson, former Mayor of Everlock, but certainly still a fighter despite dying once, walked right up to Jael and _slapped_ her in the face. The _crack_ that echoed from the impact immediately forced Alison to grab Janet by the arm and pull her back before she could do anything worse, while Jael put a hand to her own cheek. Santos ran to Jael’s side, trying to attend to her, but Jael waved him off as Janet spoke up.

“What is with you SAE people and straight-up _lying_ to people? What if none of you came back!? For all we know, you could’ve been dead. Who knows what would happen then?”

“In the event that we all died,” Jael managed, glaring up at her, “The SAE would’ve sent other agents to look after you. Maybe send all of you to headquarters to live there. I don’t know.”

“Well, we don’t want you _dead.”_ Mortimer’s voice cracked, and everyone turned to see him wrap his arms around himself. He swallowed, blinking once or twice, and it became more than apparent that he held back tears. “But if you at least told us where you were going, we could brace ourselves for the worst instead of you just laying it on us as if you expect us to straight-up accept it without questoin.”

Riley flinched. “Mortimer…”

“The one person I knew well from Everlock, other than my mom, is _comatose.”_ Mortimer snapped, glaring at Ryu and Jael. “And you’re acting like it’s just _fine.”_

The entire room fell into silence, and Mortimer sucked in a breath. He let it out, before shaking his head.

“I thought…I thought you trusted us enough by now. But I guess not, huh?” He started to leave the room. Vincent almost trailed after him, but Mortimer shook his head, looking towards Vincent with a softening gaze. “I…I need some time alone, okay?”

Vincent nodded, letting him go. Mortimer Wilson left the room alone.

Jael let a harsh sigh leave her, before she got up from the couch, clutching her bandaged arm. “I’m gonna get some sleep. No one disturb me.” With that, she, too, also walked out.

Ryu could only sigh, getting up from the couch, before speaking. “I think…I think the same goes for me.”

With that, he left.

Everyone else eventually dispersed to go distract themselves from what just happened, or needed some time alone. Janet, however, knew one thing had to happen first: She had to talk to her son.


	17. Processing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mortimer and Janet try to hash out recent events and figure things out.

Mortimer wasn’t sure how far he’d walked until he heard his mom call for him. When he initially left the room, he just wanted to get away from Jael. Apparently, that somehow translated into going outside, into the courtyard and then into the surrounding woods. As he looked around, he couldn’t help but sigh.

He was sick of it. Sick of the lies and the pain. And now Calliope was stuck in the SAE headquarters with no real way of knowing how soon she’d be okay or how fast she’d recover. She was his closest friend in Everlock, despite the rest of the people (including his mother at the time) despising her. It still hurt, knowing she got so wounded.

What if he’d been there? Could he have helped? What if he and everyone else went with Jael, Ryu and Calliope at the time? Would they have less of a chance of getting hurt…or would the outcome still be the same?

“Mortimer?”

Mortimer sucked in a deep breath, pushing a few messy strands of hair out of his face, before turning to face his mom. She looked worried, and given the dirt on her shoes, clearly had run all the way after him.

“How’d you find me?” He asked.

She offered him a sheepish grin, looking around the woods before speaking up. “It took me a while to find you. I thought you were in the house, so I searched all over before Santos pointed you out from his window, going into the woods.”

“Of _course_ he’d notice. He’s pretty observant.” That was something Mortimer had definitely noticed about Santos the most, at least so far. It hadn’t been fair that Santos hadn’t let out the fact that Ryu, Jael and Calliope ran off to the Museum of the Dead until now, but Mortimer did know that the older man seemed quite regretful of keeping that secret.

Janet sighed, looked him in the eye. “I know you’re mad about Jael, Ryu and Calliope…” She started, but Mortimer sighed, shaking his head. He looked around, then leaned back against the nearest tree as he looked towards his mother.

“I just…I can’t believe they lied to us. Again.” He gritted his teeth. “Calliope lied to me about who she really was, back in Everlock. And now all three of them straight-up neglected to tell us they were literally going into the Museum of the Dead. It’s not fair.”

“I know.” Janet grimaced, remembering her own demise briefly before shaking it out of her mind. “I know it’s not fair. I understand where they’re coming from, but at the same time…we’ve been through all of this with them. Or at least a major chunk of it.”

“The way they talked about Calliope made me think that they’re just fine with her almost dying. Like she’s just another victim of whatever the Cursed God or whatever shit there was going on back there.” He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. “I just…couldn’t take it.”

Janet swallowed. “I know that you and Calliope were good friends back in Everlock…even if I was harsh on her. I know this hurts you a lot. And I’m sure it’s hurting her too, knowing that she’s in the state she’s in. If she even knows, that is.”

“I don’t know. I mean, she’s comatose. As far as I guess, she’ll be like Vincent – She’ll wake up and wonder what the hell happened, and then someone’s gonna have to break it to her that she’s been unconscious for weeks or something.” He shook his head at that, opening his eyes. “I just want her to be okay. And I know I can’t do anything about it but just hope she’ll be okay and recover soon, but…it still doesn’t take away the fact that I’m pissed at the other two.”

“And I think that anger is justified.” Janet sighed. “Maybe I went a little overboard with slapping Jael in the face, though. You know I usually don’t get _that_ violent.”

A soft laugh escaped Mortimer at that. “I dunno. Maybe she deserved it.”

“Maybe.” She offered him a smile, and then paused. “Let’s head back, okay? I’m sure the others are worried about you.”

“Yeah.” Mortimer took a deep breath. He knew there was a lot to process, again, and as much as he didn’t like that the others lied to him again…well, they’d have to deal with it at some point. “Let’s go back.”


	18. A Little Secret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dylan and Riley try to distract themselves from the previous events, but Dylan has something he needs to tell Riley.

“Why does everyone keep getting hurt?”

“Well…” Riley could only sigh. She and Dylan had retreated to the kitchen. Riley had wanted to distract the younger lad by prepping dinner, but it was a bit too early in the afternoon to really make the whole meal. However, he could still help with chopping vegetables to later roast in the oven, so she had him doing that while she put together the spice mixture to give the veggies some flavor. “It doesn’t help that all of us have been in dangerous situations. And dangerous situations mean that someone’s bound to get hurt.”

“I guess that’s a bit obvious.” Dylan looked down at the carrots he just finished chopping, then looked up at Riley. “Should I just mix these in with the other vegetables?”

“Yeah.” She nodded. “That will be fine.”

Dylan put the chopped carrots into a bowl with the other chopped-up veggies, and he sighed, leaning against the counter and turning his head to properly face her. Riley took the bowl from Dylan, pouring the spice mixture in before doing her best to mix the vegetables and the spice well enough. “Will Mortimer be okay? Going alone like that?”

“He’ll be okay.” She reassured him. “I think I saw Janet run off after him, and I think it’s best we leave them alone. They’ll be back soon.”

Santos had retreated to his own room, presumably to pray. Vincent had decided to head off to the library, probably trying to distract himself from the fight that ensued earlier, and Jael was still in her own room. Ryu had also went to his own room to rest, and Fatima and Alison were somewhere else in the mansion. Jetpack Girl had went to go take a nap and process everything.

“What about Calliope?”

Riley frowned, shaking her head. “I’m sure she’ll come back. It’s just… _when_ , is the problem. We don’t know when.”

Dylan swallowed, looking down at the bowl of vegetables, then up at Riley. It was then that Riley noticed that he seemed nervous. Worried. Uncomfortable.

“What if she never comes back?”

Riley could only sigh. “I’m sure she will. I know she will. Calliope’s a very strong person, Dylan. Even if she’s comatose, I bet her body’s fighting to get better. Until then, we just have to wait.”

“Wait…” Dylan closed his eyes, then opened them again. “I never really told you, but…when all of you ended up in the Museum of the Dead without me, Ryu and Jael…I thought I’d never see you again.”

“What?” She swallowed. It was true; Dylan hadn’t ended up going into the Museum, purely because the Crown broke and the portal closed before he could. She wondered how long he’d waited for her and the others to return. A whole night, sure, but still… “You were worried the whole time?”

“Yeah. It didn’t help when Matpat first returned after the spell broke, and told us that Mortimer already turned to stone.”

“And then Nikita left sometime after.” Riley pieced together. Matpat and Nikita had only been in the Museum briefly, due to the magic that kept them there, but it seemed that the death challenges drained that very quickly, especially in Matpat’s case. “I’m guessing it didn’t help much.”

“Nikita said that all of you still had a chance, but…still.” Dylan sighed, shaking his head. “I’m sorry. I just…I should’ve told one of you sooner, but I’m just…I’m scared.”

“It’s okay.” She opened up her arms, offering him a hug, and he decided to go for the hug. Riley held him comfortingly, briefly, before letting go of him. “I know you’re scared. A-and I’m a little scared, too. But things will work out. I just know it. We just…have to be patient. But,” She looked him in the eye, “I am glad you talked to me about this. And if you need to talk to me or one of the others about this, or anything else, it’s okay. Okay?”

Dylan offered her the smallest of smiles, but he nodded. “Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, readers! I hope that all of you enjoyed reading this fic so far. 
> 
> I've decided to put this fanfic on hiatus during December 2020. This is partially due to Christmas celebrations, and also partially due to not exactly knowing when or if Escape The Night Season 5 would happen. I may resume updates to this fic in January 2021, but I will give another update here in the notes and on my social media (check my Profile for the links!) if I decide otherwise.
> 
> I know this year has not gone the way a lot of people have expected. However, I hope that my writing has brought a smile to your face, or some sort of entertainment, and I hope to continue doing that going forwards, whether it be with this fic, or other fics altogether. Though this fic is on hiatus, I currently have two other multichapter fics, "The Next Chapters" and "A Light Amid The Darkness," that I will be updating throughout December if you'd like to read those. 
> 
> Thank you for your patience, and for supporting this fic! I wish all of you peaceful holidays, going into the last month of the year!
> 
> UPDATE as of Dec. 29th, 2020: This fic is now on indefinite hiatus due to the somewhat-canon-compliancy of this fic and the whole series, as well as no idea when Season 5 of Escape The Night will happen due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This may change in the future, but for now the hiatus will continue. Thank you to everyone who supported this series and this fic so far. It means a lot to me, and I appreciate all the support you've given. In the meantime, feel free to read any of my other fics, whether they be from this fandom or others!


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